Excerpts  from  the  Professional  Press  on  the  work  of 
DR.  WM.  STEKEL 

We  have  lacked  thus  far  a  systematic  clinical  application  of  Freudian 
analysis.  Stekel's  work  fills  this  need.  Jung,  in  MEDIZ.  KLINIK. 

...  A  standard  work ;  a  milestone  in  the  psychiatric  and  psycho- 
therapeutic  literature. 

Geh.  Sanitatsrat  Dr.  Gerster,  in  DIE  NECE  GENERATION. 

It  would  be  regrettable  if  the  work  did  not  attract  fully  the  atten- 
tion of  the  scientific  world ;  its  deep  sobriety  and  the  fulness  of  its 
details  render  it  a  treasury  of  information,  primarily  for  the  physician, 
but,  in  large  measure,  of  interest  also  to  the  educationist,  the  minister, 
the  teacher  and,  not  least,  to  the  student  of  criminology.  .  .  . 

Horch,  in  ARCHIV  r.   KRIMINALOGIE. 

These  case  histories  will  be  read  with  great  interest  by  everyone, 
including  those  who  are  inclined  to  maintain  a  sceptical  attitude  towards 
psychoanalysis.  Eulenburg,  in  MEDIZINISCHE  KLINIK. 

Stekel's  work  teaches  practitioners  a  great  many  things  they  did  not 
know  before,  particularly  about  the  significance  of  psychology  and  sexual 
science  in  the  practice  of  medicine. 

Bitschmann,  in  INTERNAT.  ZEITSCHRIFT  F.  PSYCHOANALYSE. 

It  is  Stekel's  extraordinary  merit  that  he  compels  us  to  take  into 
account  a  pressing  mass  of  data  which  he  brings  to  light  with  a  scien- 
tific zeal  which  is  unfortunately  still  rare, — facts  and  observations  so 
penetrating,  so  true  to  life  that  these  often  render  unnecessary  any 
formal  statement  of  the  obvious  deductions  which  flow  from  them. 

DIE  NEUB  GENERATION. 

The  most  modern  problems  are  considered,  new  viewpoints  are 
brought  out,  while  the  excesses  in  the  technique  and  interpretation  of 
the  earlier  stages  of  psychoanalysis  are  avoided. 

Kermauner,  in  WIENER  KLINISCHE  WOCHENSCHRIFT. 

All  in  all,  Stekel's  is  a  work  for  which  I  bespeak  the  widest  inter- 
est not  only  among  physicians,  but  also  among  jurists,  educationists, 
sociologists  and  ministers.  Only  an  understanding  of  the  mental  life 
of  the  individual  will  yield  a  proper  view  of  our  social  life. 

Liepmann,  in  ZEITSCHRIFT  F.  SEXUALWISSENSCH. 

The  work  is  a  treasury  for  all  who  have  occasion  to  probe  the  depths 
of  human  life  and  should  be  a  source  of  considerable  information  and 
stimulus  to  every  jurist  who  takes  in  earnest  his  professional  duties. 
Geh.  Justizrat  Dr.  Horch,  in  ARCHIV  F.   KRIMINALOGIE. 

It  does  not  matter  from  what  angle  the  work  of  Stekel  is  ap- 
proached. Any  consideration  of  it  reveals  rich  material.  Stekel  is 
a  writer  who  handles  his  subjects  in  a  lavish  manner ;  lavish,  but  with 
that  restraint  which  bends  all  to  the  urgency  of  his  themes.  He  evi- 
dently approaches  his  clinical  work  with  the  same  exuberant  interest. 
There  he  reaps  through  psychoanalysis  a  rich  harvest  of  results.  He  has 
collected  these  results  and  presented  them  for  the  dissemination  of  such 
knowledge  of  the  sexual  disturbances  as  he  thus  obtained.  Facts  are  there 
in  great  number.  They  cannot  be  gainsaid.  Stekel's  own  evaluation  of 
such  facts  and  his  earnest  plea  for  their  consideration,  both  by  the  medi- 
cal profession  and  by  the  society  of  men  and  women  where  these  facts 
exist,  can  speak  only  for  themselves  to  the  truly  conscientious  reader. 
There  is  not  much  in  these  books  that  the  psychotherapeutist  can  afford 
to  pass  over.  NEW  YORK.  MEDICAL  JOURNAL. 


THE  HOMOSEXUAL 
NEUROSIS 


BY 
DR.  WILLIAM  STEKEL 

(VIENNA) 

Authorized   translation  by 
JAMES  S.  VAN  TESLAAR,  M.D. 

(For  sale  only  to  Members  of  the 
Medical  Profession.) 


BOSTON 
RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

THE    GORHAM    PRESS 


COPYRIGHT,  1922,  BY  RICHARD  G.  BADGZR 


AU  Rights  Reserved 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


w/v\ 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE 

The  present  volume  completes  my  English  version 
of  the  HomosexuaUtat  portion  of  the  author's 
Onanie  und  HomosexuaUtat.  The  first  portion  has 
been  issued  a  few  months  ago,  under  the  title  Bi- 
sexual Love,  and  it  is  very  gratifying  that  the  pub- 
lication of  the  present  volume  was  made  possible  so 
soon  after  the  appearance  of  the  first.  The  trans- 
lation of  the  part  dealing  with  Autoerotism  is  also 
completed,  and  will  appear  shortly.  One  of  the 
most  important  works  of  clinical  psychopathology 
will  thus  be  available,  for  the  English  reading  pro- 
fessional ranks,  in  unabridged  form. 

These  three  volumes,  though  available  separately, 
in  some  respects  form  an  instructive  continuity. 
At  any  rate  those  interested  in  any  of  the  funda- 
mental problems  discussed  therein  will  find  most 
helpful  an  acquaintance  with  all  three  volumes. 

Furthermore  the  student  or  physician  interested 
in  mental  problems  will  find  the  implications  of 
the  principles  set  forth  herein  of  the  utmost  prac- 
tical significance,  aside  from  their  specific  bearing 
on  the  problems  of  Homosexuality  and  Autoerotism. 
These  clinical  studies  stand  forth,  in  the  first  place, 

5 


6  Translator's  Preface 

as  lessons  in  analysis  and  therapy;  but  incidentally 
they  reveal  certain  fundamental  aspects  of  human 
nature  more  clearly  than  such  a  revelation  was  pos- 
sible without  the  aid  of  the  psychoanalytic  method 
of  research.  The  knowledge  thus  gained  for  thera- 
peutic purposes  is  also  applicable  to  many  other 
practical  problems  of  life.  One  approaching  the 
study  of  a  work  like  the  present,  with  the  intention 
of  improving  one's  therapeutic  efficiency  and  of  thus 
increasing  one's  professional  usefulness,  is  quite 
likely  to  discover  before  long  that  his  whole  out- 
look, as  a  professional  man,  and,  above  all,  as  a 
social  being,  has  undergone  a  wholesome  trans- 
formation. 

Indeed,  all  fundamental  knowledge  has  this  qual- 
ity of  spreading,  fan-like,  clearing  up  with  its  helpful 
implications  more  than  appears  obvious  at  the  be- 
ginning. It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  Psy- 
choanalysis, at  the  present  stage  primarily  a  thera- 
peutic method,  but  reaching  into  the  inner  recesses 
of  the  human  soul  more  penetratingly  than  any  other 
method  of  inquiry,  should  also  prove  the  most  help- 
ful method  of  interpreting  all  other  problems  gen- 
erated by  the  functions  of  the  human  instincts  and 
emotions. 

VAN  TESLAAR. 
September  30, 1922 
Brookline,  Mass. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  The  Relations  of  the  Homosexual  to  the  Other 
Sex — Fear,  Disgust,  Hate,  and  Anger — Homo- 
sexuality and  Epilepsy — Sadger's  Researches — 
Hirschfeld's  Theses — Fear  of  the  Sexual  Partner 
— Disgust  for  Woman — Sadistic  Attitude — Epi- 
lepsy and  Homosexuality — Other  Reactions  Indi- 
cating Revulsion — My  First  Early  Experiences — 
Sadger's  Investigations 11 

II  Role  of  the  Father  and  of  Other  Members  of  the 
Family — Dislike  of  Children — Letter  of  a  Homo- 
sexual Who  Fears  the  "Penetrating  Eye"  of 
Women — A  Marriage  with  the  Father — Jealousy 
of  the  Father — A  Homosexual  Who  Hates  His 
Mother — A  Beloved  Boy  as  the  Imago  of  the  Sis- 
ter— Psychology  of  Love  within  the  Family  Circle 
—Fear  of  the  Child— A  Girl  Who  Hates  All  Chil- 
dren— Differentiation  from  the  Mother  ....  53 

III  Homosexuality  and  Jealousy — Masked  Jealousy — A 
Jealous  Wife  of  a  Physician — Why  Women  Abuse 
Servant  Girls — Transference  of  Jealousy  to  the 
Surroundings — Jealousy  of  the  Father — Jealousy 
of  the  Residence — Jealousy  of  the  Past — A  Young 
Woman  Oversensitive  to  Any  Noises  ....  100 

IV  Jealousy  and  Paranoia — Jealousy  as  Projection  of 
One's  Own  Inadequacy — Freud's  Researches  on 
Paranoia — The  Investigations  of  Juliusburger — 
The  Jealousy  of  a  Paranoiac — Jealousy  Delusion 
of  a  Merchant — Jealousy  and  Alcoholism — The 
Evolution  of  Mankind  from  Bisexuality  to  Mono- 
sexuality  —  Metamorphosis  Sexualis  Paranoica  — 
The  Monotheism  of  Sexuality — Jealousy  and 
Criminality 155 

7 


8  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

V  Homosexuality  and  Sadism — The  Analysis  of  a 
Homosexual — Earliest  Memories — First  Account 
of  His  Attitude — Fear  of  Tuberculosis — His  At- 
titude towards  His  Parents — First  Dream — 
Dreams  of  Urinals — Anal  Eroticism — Coprophagia 
— The  Mother  as  a  Tyrant — Transvestitism — An 
Important  Dream — Voyeur  and  Exhibitionist — 
Other  Dreams — Poems  to  the  Mother — Maternal 
Body  Dreams — Sadistic  Phantasies — A  Spermato- 
zoan  Dream — The  Dream  About  Wild  Bears — 
Summarization  of  the  Analytic  Data  in  the  Case 
— The  Formula  of  Homosexuality 199 

VI  History  and  Analysis  of  a  Homosexual — Childhood 
Reminiscences — Anal  Erotism — Attachment  to  the 
Mother — Interpretation  of  Dream  Symbolisms — 
Love  of  the  Father — Regression  Theory  of  Homo- 
sexuality   227 

VII  The  Neurotic's  Inability  to  Love — The  Narcissism 
of  the  Homosexual — Progressive  Sexual  Differ- 
entiation with  the  Growth  of  Culture — The  Posi- 
tion of  the  Homosexual  in  the  Struggle  between 
Sexes — The  Social  Causes  of  Homosexuality — 
Homosexuality  among  Greeks — Increase  of  Polar 
Sexual  Tension — Various  Therapeutic  Measures — 
Hypnosis — Moll's  Association-therapy — Psychoan- 
alysis— The  Path  towards  Cure  and  the  Conditions 
for  Recovery , 289 


THE  RELATIONS  OP  THE  HOMOSEXUAL   TO   THE   OTHER 

SEX FEAR,  DISGUST,  HATE,  AND  ANGER HOMO- 
SEXUALITY AND  EPILEPSY SADGER*S  RESEARCHES 

— HIRSCHFELD'S  THESES — FEAR  OF  THE  SEXUAL 
PARTNER DISGUST  FOR  WOMAN SADISTIC  ATTI- 
TUDE  EPILEPSY  AND  HOMOSEXUALITY OTHER 

REACTIONS    INDICATING    REVULSION MY    FIRST 

EARLY    EXPERIENCES SADGER5S    INVESTIGATIONS. 


Jedermann  trdgt  ein  Bild  des  Weibes  von  der 
Mutter  her  in  sich:  davon  wird  er  bestimmt,  die 
Weiber  uberhaupt  zu  verehren  oder  sie  geringzu- 
sclidtzten  oder  gegen  sie  in  allgemeinen  gleichgultig 
zu  sein,  — Nietzsche. 


THE 
HOMOSEXUAL  NEUROSIS 


Everyone  carries  within  himself  a  pattern  of 
womanhood  derived  from  his  mother:  that  deter- 
mines whether  he  should  respect  or  depreciate 
woman;  or  whether  his  attitude  towards  woman  in 
general  should  be  one  of  mdifference. 

— Nietzsche. 

Our  investigations  thus  far  have  repeatedly  shown 
us  that  in  the  case  of  homosexuals  the  heterosexual 
path  is  merely  blocked,  but  that  it  would  be  incor- 
rect to  hold  that  the  pathway  is  altogether  absent. 
I  have  proven  that  the  individual,  as  representative 
of  our  modern  culture,  finds  it  impossible  to  main- 
tain his  bisexuality ;  therefore  he  represses  either  his 
homosexuality  or  his  heterosexuality.  We  also 
convinced  ourselves  that  organic  bisexuality  has 
nothing  to  do  with  psychic  bisexuality.  Hirschfeld 
expressly  emphasizes  that  he  has  met  with  homo- 
sexuality among  strongly  virile  men  and  among 

11 


12  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

persons  typically  female.  The  organic  theory  of 
homosexuality  has  broken  down  completely.  One 
would  suppose  that  the  investigators  would  neces- 
sarily turn  to  the  psychologic  concept.  No.  The 
psychic  forces  are  still  underestimated  and  the 
heterosexual  period  of  homosexuals  is  still  over- 
looked. Although  Hirschfeld  emphasizes  that  to 
psychoanalysis  belongs  the  merit  of  having  pointed 
out  first  the  heterosexual  component,  why  does  he 
not  draw  the  natural  deductions  from  this  acknowl- 
edged fact?  He  arrives  at  the  following  conclu- 
sions : 

1.  Genuine  homosexuality  is  always   an  inborn 
condition. 

2.  This  inborn  state  is  conditioned  by  a  specific 
homosexual  constitution  of  the  brain. 

3.  That  specific  brain  structure  is  brought  about 
through  a   peculiar  mixed  condition   of  male   and 
female  hereditary  plasm. 

4.  That   ambisexual   state   is    found   frequently 
associated  with  pronounced  instability  of  the  ner- 
vous system. 

5.  Between  the  specific  and  the  nervous  consti- 
tution there  exists  an  intimate  relationship. 

6.  All  external  causes  are  operative  only  in  the 
presence  of  the  inner  homosexual  constitution. 

7.  External   causes — provocative — are   so    com- 
mon that  in  99  per  cent,  of  cases  the  innate  homo- 


The  Nature  of  Homosexuality  18 

sexual  disposition  breaks  forth  sooner  or  later  and 
becomes  clearly  manifest  in  consciousness. 

8.  Homosexuality  is  neither  a  morbidity  nor  a 
degeneration;  it  is  neither  a  taint  nor  a  criminal 
trait,  representing  merely  an  aspect  of  natural  de- 
velopment, a  sexual  variant,  like  many  analogous 
sexual  modifications  in  the  animal  and  vegetal 
world.  (Hirschfeld,  Homosexualitat,  p.  394.) 

Our  data  do  not  uphold  these  contentions.  How 
can  Hirschfeld  speak  of  an  innate  homosexual  con- 
stitution when  elsewhere  in  his  work  he  admits  the 
constant  presence  of  heterosexual  instincts?  How 
can  he  maintain  that  homosexuality  is  a  trait  reach- 
ing back  to  the  very  roots  of  individuality  when 
every  careful  investigation  proves  the  contrary? 

The  following  statements  show  his  contradictions 
on  the  subject: 

"Here  too  it  has  been  contended  that  all  these 
deviations  from  the  sexual  type  during  childhood 
and  puberty  do  not  conclusively  lead  to  the  diagnosis 
of  homosexuality,  that  the  earlier  periods  of  life  are 
undifferentiated  with  respect  to  sex,  that  boys  as 
well  as  girls,  young  men  as  well  as  young  women, 
often  become  eventually  fully  heterosexual  in  spite 
of  pronounced  androgyny  and  sexual  incongruities ; 
even  the  transvestites  of  both  sexes  show  early  traits 
inharmonious  with  their  respective  sex,  and  certainly 
many  passivists,  succubists,  or  masochists  show 


14  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

themselves  already  as  boys  somewhat  lacking  in 
'mannish*  traits  while  female  activists,  incubists  and 
sadists  lack  certain  womanly  traits  already  in  their 
girlhood,  though  all  retain  the  capacity  to  love  the 
opposite  sex  and  therefore  prove  themselves  later 
heterosexual.  .  .  . 

"At  any  rate  one  thing  is  certain.  If  a  child 
is  a  urning,  it  grows  up  a  heterosexual  person  with 
the  same  unconditional  certainty  with  which  the 
'normal*  child  becomes  heterosexual.  Thus  the  spe- 
cial character  of  the  urning  looms  forth  as  some- 
thing fundamental  having  its  roots  in  the  depths 
of  personality."  (Hirschfeld,  Homosexualitat,  p. 
121.) 

Naturally,  Hirschfeld  adopts  a  safe  method  of 
excluding  all  cases  which  do  present  a  history  of 
heterosexuality.  He  calls  such  cases  "pseudo- 
homosexuality"  thus  placing  them  in  a  category 
apart  from  the  genuine  urning.  Bloch  also  calls 
the  heterosexual  inclination  of  typical  homosexuals 
a  sort  of  "pseudoheterosexuality."  This  method 
of  dealing  with  the  subject  admits  of  no  proofs. 

1  "Homosexuals  who  display  their  inclination  clearly  only 
after  puberty  show  an  interest  in  the  other  sex  before  and 
during  the  period  of  puberty.  For  instance,  I  have  been  told 
by  a  23-year-old  typical  homosexual,  today  a  victim  of  horror 
feminae,  that  at  16  and  17  years  of  age  he  entertained  strong 
fancies  about  girls  and  ran  after  them,  although  without  any 
particular  sexual  feeling  desire.  This  transitory  and  unde- 
fined preoccupation  of  homosexuals  with  the  opposite  sex  is  a 
sort  of  'pseudoheterosexuality.' "  (Bloch,  loc.  cit.,  p.  597.) 


The  Nature  of  Homosexuality  15 

Block  suggests  the  test  that  a  genuine  theory  of 
homosexuality  must  be  capable  of  embracing  all 
cases.  The  Hirschfeld  theory  of  "the  third  sex"  can- 
not do  so.  It  is  neither  founded  nor  proven  either 
on  organic  or  on  psychologic  grounds. 

But  why  is  it  that  the  homosexual  shifts  so  com- 
pletely away  from  the  sexual  partner?  A.  Adler 
has  conceived  in  these  cases  the  hypothesis  of  a 
"fear  of  the  sexual  partner."  This  observation  cer- 
tainly holds  true  in  the  case  of  many  homosexuals, 
but  is  not  true  of  all  cases.  Nature  does  not  ope- 
rate in  such  simple  ways  anji  a  single  key  does  not 
unlock  the  riddle  of  homosexuality. 

In  accordance  with  the  results  of  our  investiga- 
tion thus  far  we  may  conclude :  the  homosexual  finds 
closed  for  him  the  path  which  leads  to  the  other  sex, 
and  the  barrier  is  psychical.  Anxiety,  disgust  and 
scorn  support  the  forces  of  homosexual  love.  These 
feelings  do  not  exhaust  the  range  of  inhibitory  fac- 
tors and  we  shall  presently  turn  our  attention  to 
others.  But  we  must  take  up  the  psychogenesis  of 
these  inhibitions  in  a  thorough  and  systematic 
manner. 

May  fear  of  the  sexual  partner  drive  a  person  into 
homosexuality?  We  must  answer  this  question  in 
the  affirmative  inasmuch  as  we  are  able  to  trace  that 
fear  in  a  number  of  cases. 

First,  let  us  take  up  the  case  of  Krafft-Ebing 
(Obs.  159)  since  it  is  so  simple  and  obvious: 


16  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

54.  Mrs.  X.,  26  years  of  age,  married  7  years, 
confesses  herself  attracted  for  some  time  to  per- 
sons of  her  own  sex;  she  respects  and  even  feels  a 
certain  sympathy  for  her  husband  but  marital  rela- 
tions with  him  she  finds  repulsive.  She  has  made 
him  abstain  from  sexual  relations  with  her  since 
the  birth  of  their  youngest  child.  Already  at  the 
boarding  school  she  felt  a  keen  interest  in  other 
young  women,  which  she  can  only  describe  as 
love  attraction.  But  occasionally  she  had  also  felt 
herself  attracted  to  particular  men  and  lately  a  cer- 
tain man  had  put  her  resistance  to  test.  She  was 
often  afraid  she  might  forget  herself  with  him  and 
therefore  avoided  being  alone  with  the  man.  But 
these  are  merely  passing  episodes  in  contrast  with 
her  passionate  inclination  towards  persons  of  her 
own  sex.  Her  true  love  is  expressed  in  kisses,  ca- 
resses and  intimate  contact  with  the  latter.  Fail- 
ure to  gratify  that  yearning  is  painfully  uncom- 
fortable and  is  largely  responsible  for  her  present 
nervous  state.  The  subject  does  not  assume  a  par- 
ticular sexual  role  in  relation  to  persons  of  her  own 
sex,  and  she  did  no  more  than  indulge  with  them  in 
kisses,  petting  and  embracing.  The  subject  con- 
siders herself  of  a  passionate  nature.  Quite  likely 
that  she  masturbates.  Her  sexual  perversion  she 
looks  upon  as  "unnaturally  morbid."  Nothing  in 
the  woman's  ordinary  conduct  or  external  appear- 
ance betrays  such  an  anomaly.  About  her  child- 


A  Homosexual  Woman  17 

hood  she  is  unable  to  report  anything  of  signifi- 
cance. She  was  quick  to  learn,  had  poetic  and 
esthetic  inclinations,  was  considered  somewhat  ner- 
vous, loved  reading  of  novels  and  sentimental  ro- 
mances, was  of  a  neuropathic  constitution,  and  ex- 
tremely sensitive  to  changes  in  temperature.  It  is 
noteworthy  also  that  at  ten  years  of  age,  because 
she  thought  that  her  mother  did  not  love  her,  the 
patient  dissolved  matches  in  coffee  and  drank  the 
solution  so  as  to  make  herself  very  ill  and  to  draw 
her  mother's  affection  to  her. 

Here  we  see  an  inclination  to  heterosexual  rela- 
tions which  is  not  cultivated  on  account  of  fear. 
This  young  woman,  with  a  tremendous  homosexual 
leaning  as  shown  already  by  her  attachment  to  her 
mother,  marries  a  man,  in  whose  embrace  she  re- 
mains frigid,  but  fears  to  be  alone  with  a  man  who 
rouses  her,  because  he  may  prove  dangerous  to  her. 
We  see  that  her  pronounced  bisexuality  leads  her 
to  fall  in  love  with  a  man,  to  be  his  sweetheart,  in 
her  fancy,  but  she  hesitates  to  turn  her  fancy  into 
«,  reality,  the  "fear  of  sinning"  preventing  her  from 
carrying  out  the  step.  Then  she  looks  upon  the 
heterosexual  inclinations  as  passing  whims  and  turns 
to  her  homosexual  fancies.  She  is  running  away 
from  the  male.  She  fears  the  man  she  loves  be- 
cause a  strong  love  implies  submission  to  the  male. 
She  gravitates  away  from  him,  not  because  the  male 


18  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

is  unable  to  yield  her  gratification  but  because  she 
fears  him.  But  we  must  understand  how  this  flight 
from  the  male,  which  manifests  itself  also  in  her 
dyspareunia,  originated.  How  little  such  life  his- 
tories bear  on  this  point,  without  psychoanalysis ! 
In  my  study  of  dyspareunia  2  I  describe  similar 
cases  and  show  how  aversion  towards  the  male  origi- 
nates in  the  first  place. 

Through  Freud  we  have  learned  that  fear,  like 
disgust,  is  a  repressed  form  of  libido.  Though  this 
view  is  correct,  it  is  not  always  adequate.  My  own 
researches  have  shown  that  every  fear  represents 
in  the  first  place  fear  of  self. 

But  why  should  the  homosexual  entertain  any 
fear  of  himself  during  intercourse  with  woman? 
What  he  fears  is  his  excessive  sexuality  when  it  is 
commingled  with  criminal  tendencies. 

The  frequency  with  which  fear  of  one's  own  crimi- 
nal aggressiveness  stands  back  of  impotence  and 
homosexuality  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  Krafft- 
Ebing  describes  a  typical  bisexual  who  had  experi- 
enced orgasm  but  once  in  contact  with  woman.  But 
that  happened  during  the  commission  of  a  delict 
(Obs.  142,  p.  273)  on  his  part. 

"It  is  remarkable  that  he  did  experience  gratifi- 
cation that  one  time  during  the  (forced)  act.  After 
the  act  he  was  overcome  with  nausea.  One  hour 

"In  vol.  Ill  of  Disorders  of  Instincts  and  Emotions:  The 
Sexual  Frigidity  of  Woman;  Psychopathology  of  Woman's 
Love  Life.  English  translation  by  Dr.  James  8.  Van  Teslaar. 


Fear  of  the  Sexual  Partner  19 

after  the  assault  he  again  had  coitus  with  the  same 
woman  and  with  her  consent  but  that  time  he  no 
longer  experienced  any  satisfaction."  That  proves 
that  the  orgasm  depended  on  his  abuse  of  force. 
The  fear  is  fear  of  violence,  the  disgust  is  disgust 
of  self,  both  coming  into  play  so  as  to  protect 
one  against  deeds  incompatible  with  one's  ethical 
standards. 

I  know  a  large  number  of  homosexuals  who  have 
actually  confessed  to  me  that  they  are  able  to  have 
intercourse  with  women  only  while  they  are  in  a 
strong  rage.  But  then  they  are  in  fear  of  them- 
selves, so  dangerous  do  they  become.  One  subject 
confessed  to  me  that  he  had  nearly  strangled  his 
sexual  partner.  Other  homosexuals  feel  an  inex- 
pressible rage  just  after  coitus.  In  such  cases  the 
heterosexual  act  is  associatively  related  to  some 
criminal  act.  Some  unconscious  fancies  depict  and 
urge  cutting  up,  strangling  or  beating  the  female 
companion.  These  men  are  extreme  woman-haters 
and  hatred  is  always  deadly. 

I  reproduce  here  a  single  relevant  observation: 

55.  Mr.  H.  K.  is  a  well-known  homosexual  who 
prefers  particularly  males  of  low  standing.  The 
more  powerfully  built  the  men  are  the  greater  is 
his  orgasm.  He  prefers  to  choose  packers,  furni- 
ture movers,  expressmen  and  generally  individuals 
of  strong  build.  His  greatest  orgasm  he  experi- 


20  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

enced  during  intimacy  with  a  member  of  an  athletic 
club,  a  man  who  had  a  very  small  penis.  He  feels 
such  a  strong  fear  of  women  that  he  does  not  trust 
himself  in  a  room  alone  with  one.  He  does  not 
remember  having  ever  been  sensuously  stirred  by  a 
woman.  Several  times  he  tried  intercourse  with 
prostitutes  but  fled  each  time  as  soon  as  he  found 
himself  alone  in  the  room  with  the  woman.  A  cold 
sweat  breaks  out  over  his  brow  and  he  runs  off  pre- 
cipitately as  if  pursued  by  a  thousand  demons.  A 
short  analysis  over  a  few  days  revealed  that  this 
was  a  typical  case  of  a  criminal  fancy,  the  subject 
having  indulged  for  a  long  time  in  the  onanistic 
fancy  of  strangling  a  woman.  ("All  women  ought 
to  be  exterminated"  ...  is  a  favorite  sentiment 
often  expressed  by  this  man.)  In  his  phantasies 
he  has  also  committed  assaults  on  men,  and  the 
thought  of  ripping  open  the  anus  of  a  man  has 
occurred  to  him  already  several  times. 

His  fear  of  women  is  the  fear  he  may  forget  him- 
self and  strangle  one  of  them.  But  he  is  also  afraid 
of  men,  that  is,  he  also  fears  he  may  commit  some 
assault  on  a  man.  Therefore  he  protects  himself 
through  choosing  men  of  powerful  physique.  They 
should  be  stronger  than  he.  Thus  he  feels  assured 
that  he  will  not  be  able  to  assault  them.  Lately  he 
has  been  seeking  a  mannish  woman  who  should  also 
be  stronger  than  he.  Evidently  he  proposes  to  pro- 
tect himself  also  in  that  case  .  .  .  against  himself. 


Protection  against  the  Other  Sea.          21 

The  homosexuality  showed  itself  to  be  a  flight  from 
his  criminal  heterosexual  tendencies. 

Other  homosexuals  protect  themselves  against 
woman  through  disgust.  How  closely  hatred,  fear, 
and  disgust  stand  in  this  connection  may  be  seen 
in  the  following  observation  by  Hirschfeld: 

"A  certain  homosexual  related  to  me  that  he  is 
able  to  have  intercourse  with  a  woman  but  that  im- 
mediately afterwards  he  is  seized  with  a  terrible 
anger  against  the  woman  and  once  after  the  act  he 
spat  at  her  in  disgust ;  since  that,  in  order  to  avoid 
consequences,  he  leaves  the  room  as  hastily  as  pos- 
sible immediately  after  the  ejaculation. 

"How  far  the  aversion  may  go  is  shown  by  the 
case  of  the  homosexual  Herzog  von  Praslin-Choiseul 
who  at  Paris  in  1864  strangled  post  coitum  his 
young  bride,  the  daughter  of  General  Sebastiani. 
It  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection  that  by  far 
the  greater  number  of  sadistic  women  who  prevail 
upon  masochistic  males  of  grossest  physical  and 
mental  type  to  carry  out  acts  of  violence  upon  them 
are  in  reality  homosexual  women  with  a  sexual  aver- 
sion to  men.  Professor  Albert  Eulenburg  told  me 
that  all  the  alleged  sadists  among  females  whom 
he  knows  have  proven  themselves  in  reality  to  be 
homosexuals.  I,  too,  know  but  three  women  among 
twelve  sadists  who  deny  homosexuality."  (Hirsch- 
feld, loc.  cit.  p.  96). 


22  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

First  we  learn  that  this  homosexual,  through  fear 
of  himself,  runs  off  in  the  nick  of  time.  The  act  of 
spitting  may  be  the  symbolic  substitute  for  a  more 
serious  act.  If  additional  testimony  were  needed 
to  support  the  relevance  of  my  conception,  the  case 
of  the  Duke  von  Praslin-Choiseul  stands  forth  as  the 
clearest  proof  one  could  wish.  Plainly  Hirschfeld, 
as  usual,  confuses  here  cause  and  effect.  The  Duke 
did  not  strangle  his  bride  because  he  was  homo- 
sexual,— he  had  taken  flight  in  homosexuality,  be- 
cause he  felt  impelled  to  commit  a  "passion  crime" 
and  he  tried  to  protect  himself  against  his  own  wild 
instincts. 

Particularly  interesting  from  the  criminologic- 
psychologic  standpoint  are  the  cases  of  epileptics 
who  during  the  attack  are  diverted  from  their  usual 
sexual  path.  The  epileptic  is  a  criminal  who  dur- 
ing the  attack  carries  out  some  criminal  deed.  Or- 
dinarily the  deed  is  carried  out  in  the  phantasy,  but 
here  and  there  the  epileptic  commits  overtly  some 
deed  of  uncommon  cruelty.  During  his  epileptic 
attack  the  patient  gives  expression  to  his  criminal 
trend.  The  attack  is  the  equivalent  of  the  crime. 
Readers  interested  in  this  important  problem  I  must 
refer  to  my  original  study.3  I  have  been  much 
surprised  that  it  has  received  so  little  attention  on 
the  part  of  neurologists  and  criminologists.  It  is 
the  fate  of  psychoanalysts.  The  current  fashion  in 
*Nervdse  Angstzustande,  2nd  ed.,  p.  336. 


Epilepsy  23 

science  has  decreed  our  ban,  our  works  are  over- 
looked and  are  neglected  even  when  they  are  of  fun- 
damental significance,  like  my  contribution  on 
epilepsy. 

Epilepsy,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jacksonian 
type,  is  a  particular  form  of  hysteria.  In  the 
hysterical  attack,  too,  the  unconscious  forces  break 
through  and  the  individual  carries  out  various  in- 
stinctive promptings  while  his  consciousness  is  side- 
tracked. The  epileptic  attack  represents  more  the 
criminal,  the  hysterical  corresponds  more  to  the 
sexual  urge.  Naturally  the  epileptic  attack  may 
also  substitute  some  sexual  crime  (crime  passionelle), 
and  that,  frequently,  is  the  theme  of  the  attack.  It 
is  thus  obvious  that  homosexuals  who  shun  crimes 
of  passion  may  fall  easily  a  victim  to  attacks  dur- 
ing which  the  crimes  are  carried  out  vicariously.  In 
our  study  of  sadism  we  shall  analyze  in  detail  such 
a  case.4  Here  I  wish  to  point  out  merely  the 
interesting  fact  that  during  the  epileptic  at- 
tack heterosexuals  commit  homosexual  acts  and  re- 
versely. 

56.  Mr.  W.  H.,  39  years  of  age,  a  strongly  built 
young  man,  comes  to  me  to  be  treated  for  epilepsy 
and  every  time  he  is  accompanied  by  an  attendant. 
Since  his  16th  year  he  suffers  attacks  and  several 
times  he  was  seized  while  on  the  street.  For  that 

*  Vol.  V.  in:   Disorders  of  Instincts  and  Emotions.     English 
version  by  Dr.  Van  Teslaar. 


24  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

reason  he  does  not  go  out  alone  and  is  always  accom- 
panied by  his  attendant,  -a  simple  fellow  to  whom 
he  seems  much  attached.  He  is  totally  incapaci- 
tated from  following  any  occupation  for  it  turns 
out  that  his  attacks  are  more  frequent  when  he 
endeavors  to  work.  On  account  of  his  attacks  he 
has  prevailed  upon  his  well-to-do  father  to  keep 
him  in  the  country  where  he  has  nothing  to  do  but 
to  go  on  walks.  He  is  soft  and  pliant  so  long  as 
things  go  his  way.  But  if  contradicted  he  flies  into 
great  rage.  He  does  not  burst  out  with  anger  but 
tries  to  control  himself  and  soon  afterwards  he  has 
an  attack  during  which  he  sees  red.  He  reproaches 
himself  a  great  deal  on  account  of  his  failure  to 
achieve  something  in  life  and  because  he  is  the 
cause  of  so  much  trouble  to  his  parents.  His  ethi- 
cal standard  is  a  very  high  one  and  that  is  a  point 
of  great  significance  in  the  differential  diagnosis  of 
genuine  epilepsy.  He  bemoans  his  misspent  life  and 
wants  to  be  cured.  If  only  there  were  some  way 
to  free  him  of  the  trouble!  Regarding  his  sexual 
life:  he  relates  that  he  is  decidedly  homosexual  and 
that  boys  and  handsome  young  men  particularly 
attract  him.  The  attendant  is  clearly  a  protection 
against  his  homosexual  excitations.  When  he  meets 
boys  who  attract  him  he  clings  to  his  attendant 
pretending  to  fear  an  oncoming  attack.  While  liv- 
ing in  the  country  at  the  present  his  attacks  come 
on  only  at  night  and  in  bed.  He  does  not  recall  the 


Epilepsy  25 

aura,  except  that  he  sees  red,  and  he  remembers  no 
dream  starting  or  accompanying  the  attack.  He 
masturbates  occasionally ;  always  with  the  fancy 
that  he  is  playing  with  small  boys.  I  suggest  to  his 
parents  that  he  ought  to  be  psychoanalyzed.  In 
view  of  the  hopeless  character  of  other  current 
therapy  this  may  be  his  only  chance  of  recovery. 
The  father  agrees.  But  as  the  patient  lives  some 
distance  from  Vienna  I  advise  the  father  to  remove 
him  to  the  city  for  the  duration  of  the  treatment. 
This  he  also  agrees  to  do.  Next  day  the  mother 
calls  and  asks  me  to  use  my  influence  to  prevent  the 
boy  from  staying  in  Vienna.  That  would  bring  him 
back  home  and  she  is  tremendously  afraid  of  him. 
Her  husband  does  not  know  it,  she  has  kept  it  from 
him.  During  the  attacks  the  son  turns  on  her  and 
attempts  to  attack  her.  Once  she  succeeded  to  re- 
pel him  only  by  the  exercise  of  her  strength.  Dur- 
ing the  attack  he  rolls  his  eyes  fearfully  and 
threatens  she  must  die  because  she  is  responsible  for 
everything.  I  arrange  that  the  patient  should  see 
me  only  twice  a  week  after  that.  But  on  the  third 
appointment  he  failed  to  appear,  because  I  had 
stipulated  as  one  of  the  first  conditions  of  my  treat- 
ment that  he  must  go  to  work.  The  very  next  day 
he  reacted  with  several  attacks.  The  father  found 
that  the  treatment  proved  "too  exciting"  for  the 
boy,  and  I  agreed  readily  to  give  up  the  analysis 
when  the  father  took  entirely  the  son's  side  and 


26  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

disagreed  with  the  suggestion  that  the  boy  must 
take  up  some  occupation. 

This  case  shows  the  outbreak  of  homosexuality 
during  the  attacks  and  an  affective  relationship  to 
the  mother  such  as  is  shown  by  many  homosexuals, 
as  we  shall  explain  more  fully  later. 

The  reverse  also  happens, — heterosexuals  com- 
mitting homosexual  deeds  during  the  attacks.  The 
repressed  components  of  sexuality  always  break 
through  during  the  attack. 

Tarnowsky,  too,  speaks  of  "epileptic  peder- 
asty." 5  The  "epileptic  pederasts"  are  usually  of 
active  character.  As  an  example  he  mentions  the 
case  of  a  criminal  who  came  under  his  personal  ob- 
servation. A  young  man,  wealthy,  apparently  fully 
heterosexual,  goes  to  the  house  of  his  beloved  after 
a  sumptuous  dinner  during  which  he  had  imbibed 
a  great  amount  of  wine.  The  lady  of  the  house 
not  being  at  home  he  went  to  a  room  where  a  14- 
year-old  boy  was  asleep,  assaulted  him  and  also 
the  chamber  maid  who  ran  to  the  spot  attracted  by 
the  boy's  outcries.  After  that  he  fell  into  a  sleep 
which  lasted  12  hours.  When  he  awoke  he  recalled 
nothing  of  the  episode.  It  was  found  that  he  was 
subject  to  epileptic  attacks  particularly  after  wine. 
Hirschfeld  observes  in  this  connection: 

11 B.  Tarnowsky,  Die  krankhaften  Erscheinungen  des  Ge- 
schlechssinnes  (The  Morbid  Manifestations  of  the  Sexual  In- 
stinct). Fine  forensisch-psychiatrische  Studie.  Berlin,  1886, 
p.  51  ff. 


Epilepsy  27 

"Usually  the  epileptic  neurosis — which,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  I  have  noticed  but  rarely  among  homo- 
sexuals— influences  homosexuality  in  the  sense  of 
removing  the  inhibitions  and  increasing  the  impul- 
sive energy  of  the  instinctive  cravings.  I  have  had 
under  examination  a  particularly  serious  case  of 
this  character,  a  man-servant,  subject  to  epilepsy 
who  during  a  fit  of  rage  and  anger  strangled  to 
death  and  then  hacked  to  pieces  a  boy.  In  this,  as 
in  similar  cases,  there  was  a  previous  history  of  a 
fusion  of  homosexuality  and  epilepsy.  At  any  rate 
it  is  conceivable  that  during  the  beclouding  of  con- 
sciousness induced  by  the  epileptic  seizure  all 
psychic  factors  undergo  such  a  complete  trans- 
formation that  even  tendencies  ordinarily  wholly 
foreign  to  consciousness  and  not  even  tolerated  in 
the  foreconscious,  insofar  as  the  latter  may  be  re- 
vealed, find  ready  outlet.  Burchard,  too,  has  ob- 
served an  epileptic  of  normal  sexuality  who  during 
the  seizures  committed  homosexual  assaults  on  other 
patients."  (Hirschfeld,  loc.  cit.,  p.  214.) 

What  I  have  said  about  the  influence  of  alcoholics 
holds  true  also  of  epileptic  attacks.  The  latter 
also  neutralize  the  inhibitions  and  the  bisexual  and 
criminal  aspects  of  human  nature  come  clearly  to 
surface.  It  is  noteworthy  that  Tarnowsky's  pa- 
tient also  indulged  in  alcohol  before  the  onset  of 
the  attack. 


28  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

The  following  case  shows  that  the  attacks  may 
also  be  simulated: 


57.  Mr.  Z.  T.,  a  bisexual,  subject  to  anxiety 
attacks,  relates  that  he  suffered  a  great  deal  once 
because  his  mother  devoted  herself  very  lovinglv 
to  a  brother  during  the  latter's  illness.  He  was  22 
years  of  age  at  the  time  and  extremely  jealous. 
Once  he  found  himself  alone  in  the  room  with  his 
mother.  Without  knowing  what  he  was  doing  he 
threw  himself  on  her  with  the  intent  of  assaulting 
her.  The  mother  shouted  and  the  sisters  and  serv- 
ants came  rushing  in.  He  simulated  an  epileptic 
fit,  threw  himself  on  the  floor  and  remained  for  an 
hour  apparently  in  a  faint.  Physicians  were  called 
in  and  they  declared  the  condition  epilepsy.  For 
two  days  he  acted  as  if  he  heard  nothing  of  what 
was  said  and  knew  nothing  of  what  was  going  on. 
His  deed  caused  him  endless  shame.  He  was  not 
reproached  on  account  of  it  and  he  spent  two  months 
in  a  comfortable  sanatorium. 

How  closely  related  are  make-believe  and  illness 
with  every  neurotic !  This  young  man  suffered  also 
from  fear  and  disgust  of  women  but  that,  as  well  as 
his  whole  anxiety  neurosis,  disappeared  completely 
under  psychoanalytic  treatment.  The  case  stands 
as  one  of  my  most  successful  therapeutic  accom- 
plishments. 

We  turn  our  attention  now  to  a  consideration 


Aversion  29 

of  the  disgust  with  which  homosexuals  are  inspired 
by  the  other  sex.  I  have  already  repeatedly  stated 
that  the  disgust  represents  a  repressed  desire,  that 
it  stands  for  the  repulsion  of  unbearable  tendencies. 
Heterosexuals  show  a  similar  aversion  for  their  own 
sex, — a  feeling  which  the  homosexuals  have  re- 
pressed. That  much  the  very  beginner  in  psycho- 
analysis knows ;  the  observation  belongs  to  the  a  b  c 
of  practical  psychology.  Nevertheless,  we  still  find 
disgust  and  scorn  of  woman  pointed  out  as  proofs 
of  homosexuality.  Disgust  is  not  a  proof  of  the 
absence  of  the  proper  libido.  The  true  homosexuals 
would  show  a  complete  indifference  towards  the 
opposite  sex.  Occasionally  they  do  assume  such  in- 
difference for  their  attitude  is  always  affective 
and  negativistic.  Hirschfeld  contradicts  himself 
repeatedly  on  this  point. 

In  one  place  he  emphasizes  that  the  genuine  homo- 
sexual is  indifferent  towards  woman  and  shows  no 
disgust : 

"On  this  point  also  I  find  myself  in  agreement 
with  Numa  Praetorius,6  who  in  one  of  his  essays 
remarks  that  most  persons  'show  an  inclination 
towards  one  sex  but  only  indifference  towards  the 
other  sex.'  He  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  disgust 
of  heterosexuals'  feeling-attitude  of  disgust  towards 
homosexual  deeds,  too,  is  an  intellectual  process  in- 
"  Jahrbuch  f.  swcuelle  Zwischenttufen,  vol.  IX,  1908,  p.  504. 


30  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

duced  by  the  prevailing  social  attitude  and  judg- 
ment rather  than  instinctive  and  innate.  If  the  dis- 
like were  genuine  heterosexuals  would  hardly  get 
along  so  easily  and  so  often  with  homosexuals  nor 
would  the  latter  carry  on  so  readily  masturbatory 
acts  with  the  opposite  sex,  even  though  the  acts  be 
limited  to  mechanical  excitations."  (Hirschfeld, 
•loc.  cit.,  p.  218.) 

But  another  passage  of  the  work  reveals  the  op- 
posite view: 

"A  26-year-old  workingman  relates:  'At  17  years 
of  age  an  older  friend  of  mine  induced  me  once  to 
have  sexual  intercourse  with  a  woman — I  was  un- 
aware at  the  time  of  my  urning  disposition — and  I 
felt  such  disgust  that  I  vomited.  Since  that  time  I 
'have  a  "holy  horror'*  of  any  contact  with  woman, 
until  a  few  weeks  ago  when  driven  to  despair  I  tried 
to  control  myself.  It  was  useless,  I  could  attain 
neither  erection  nor  ejaculation  and  instead,  the 
continuous  irritation  brought  on  an  inflammation 
of  the  member.* ' 

"A  Bavarian  merchant  relates :  'As  a  result  of 
repeated  intercourse  with  women  I  have  acquired  a 
serious  nervous  derangement,  a  strong  sense  of  las- 
situde associated  with  vomiting  and  migraine  last- 
ing for  days.  The  odor  exhaled  by  woman  causes 
me  greatest  distress.  I  am  now  unable  to  gratify  a 
woman,  but  on  the  other  hand  contact  with  a  sol- 


Aversion  31 

dier  makes  me  happy,  it   strengthens   and   revives 
me."     (Hirschfeld,  loc.  cit.,  p.  96.) 

In  the  passage  next  following  he  expresses  him- 
self even  more  plainly : 

"It  is  very  striking  to  note  that  women  in  execu- 
tive positions,  directresses,  etc.,  are  much  more  se- 
vere with  the  male  employees,  servants,  etc.,  than 
with  the  female  personnel.  There  are  homosexual 
males  who  avoid  any  service  by  women  and  chiefly 
for  that  reason  dislike  restaurants  employing  fe- 
male waitresses.  Also,  there  are  homosexual  women 
who  avoid  business  relations  with  men  for  similar 
reasons.  Without  knowing  why,  homosexually  pre- 
disposed girls  begin  early  to  feel  that  being  con- 
ducted home  by  gentlemen  is  something  superfluous 
as  well  as  unpleasant.  Many  timings  and  urlinds 
actually  experience  a  physical  distress  when  some 
member  of  the  opposite  sex  so  much  as  helps  them 
on  with  their  coat.  /  know  several  homosexual 
physicians  of  extreme  sensitiveness  whose  aversion 
to  the  female  characters  is  so  strong  that  physical 
examinations  of  women,  particularly  of  their  sexual 
parts  or  breasts,  is  highly  repulsive  to  them  and  the 
aversion  may  go  so  far  as  to  make  it  impossible  for 
them  to  undertake  such  an  examination."  (Hirsch- 
feld, loc.  cit.,  p.  98.) 

Such  accounts  prove  that  the  attitude  of  the 
homosexual  towards  the  opposite  sex  is  not  one  of 


32  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

indifference.  Where  that  is  claimed  it  may  be 
doubted;  at  any  rate  it  does  not  correspond  with 
psychoanalytic  experience.  Hatred,  anger,  disgust, 
physical  discomfort  serve  as  protections  against  the 
other  sex.  That  is  true  of  male  as  well  as  of  the 
female  homosexuals. 

For  a  short  space  I  shall  now  limit  my  observa- 
tions to  male  homosexuals.  I  shall  attempt  to  make 
clear  how  I  have  arrived  at  my  present  conception. 
The  homosexual's  scorn  of  woman,  his  emotional 
revulsion-attitude  against  the  other  sex,  is  precisely 
what  led  me  to  formulate  my  new  conceptions.  I 
had  the  opportunity  to  analyze  a  homosexual.  Dur- 
ing the  very  first  consultation  hours  there  was  re- 
vealed that  heterosexual  stage  through  which  every 
homosexual  must  pass.  Previously  it  was  my  cus- 
tom to  refuse  to  analyze  homosexuals  because  I  had 
assumed  Hirschfeld's  view  that  uranism  is  an  innate 
condition.  This  particular  patient  suffered  of  vari- 
ous anxiety  attacks  and  came  to  be  treated  for  his 
anxiety  not  for  his  homosexuality.  His  anxiety 
state  showed  itself  particularly  as  a  fear  of  woman 
so  that  he  could  not  trust  himself  to  be  alone  with 
one.  Among  his  acquaintances  there  was  also  a 
very  sympathetic  spinster.  They  went  on  walks 
together  for  hours  but  his  fear  still  dominated  him 
and  he  could  never  trust  himself  with  her  alone 
in  a  room.  They  held  their  conversations  either  in 
a  public  garden  or  at  a  restaurant.  Naturally  I 


The  Other  Sex  33 

looked  into  this  anxiety  condition  and  began  to  in- 
vestigate this  homosexual  who  had  maintained  rela- 
tions with  an  elderly  gentleman  for  years,  with  ref- 
erence to  his  heterosexuality.  I  was  surprised  when 
he  brought  forth  countless  heterosexual  reminis- 
cences from  his  childhood.  During  the  first  few 
days  I  heard  the  usual  history  of  urnings:  the  lik- 
ing for  girls*  games,  womanly  behavior,  he  had 
always  been  more  like  a  girl  in  everything,  etc.  But 
soon  the  picture  changed  and  the  heterosexual  ten- 
dency became  gradually  more  evident.  His  depend- 
ence on  the  attachment  to  the  mother  was  striking. 
One-sided  as  my  attitude  was  at  the  time,  I  made 
certain  deductions,  somewhat  hastily,  regarding  the 
roots  of  homosexuality,  and  in  the  first  edition  of 
my  Angst zustdnde  (1908),  after  several  similar 
experiences,  I  wrote: 

"As  is  shown  by  my  latest  investigations  these 
cases  are  frequently  neuroses.  Some  time  homo- 
sexuality improves  or  may  disappear  under  psycho- 
analysis. Homosexuality  represents  merely  the 
complete  revulsion  of  infantile  incestuous  thoughts. 
Homosexual  males  never  experience  any  erotic  feel- 
ing in  contact  with  a  strange  woman ;  they  confess 
that  they  can  feel  towards  these  women  only  as 
towards  a  sister  or  the  mother.  That  discloses  to 
us  the  roots  of  homosexuality.  The  concept  'wom- 
an' is  unalterably  fused  with  the  concepts  'mother* 


34  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

and  'sister.'  The  Abwehr  of  incestuous  fancies  de- 
termines the  flight  into  homosexuality.  That  trans- 
position naturally  is  facilitated  through  correspond- 
ing somatic  changes.  The  homosexual,  too,  is  a  vic- 
tim of  infantile  reminiscences.  Thus  homosexuality 
'turns  out  to  be  but  a  special  form  of  the  neurotic 
repression." 

With  youthful  impetuosity  I  formulated  the  re- 
sults of  my  investigations  somewhat  hastily  at  the 
time  and  expressed  the  therapeutic  results  in  too 
optimistic  a  tone.  In  the  course  of  time  I  learned 
to  know  better.  Many  patients  who  considered 
themselves  cured  were  only  improved  and  stuck  to 
their  uranism.  We  shall  have  to  speak  of  that  with 
full  particulars. 

For  the  present  I  must  consider  more  fully  the 
theme  "mother  and  homosexuality."  The  relation- 
ship between  the  two  I  had  originally  conceived  ac- 
cording to  the  Freudian  formula.  I  did  not  see  at 
the  time  the  influence  of  other  forces,  such  as  I  have 
already  pointed  out  here.  The  earliest  dream  of 
my  first  homosexual,  for  instance,  was  about  a 
murder,  the  victim  being  a  woman;  I  did  not  under- 
stand that  dream.  I  did  not  know  that  the  fear  of 
woman  stood  for  the  fear  of  criminal  tendencies, 
that  the  subject  was  a  sadist  who  had  saved  him- 
self through  homosexuality  from  committing  some 
regrettable  deed.  These  impulses  accompanied  the 


The  Other  Sex  35 

incest  phantasies  which  were  unusually  strong  and 
of  which  he  was  fully  aware  long  before  analysis. 
The  latter  were  merely  pushed  out  of  consciousness 
as  unbearable.  A  short  time  later  Sadger  pub- 
lished his  first  analysis  of  a  homosexual  and  in  that 
contribution  he  formulated  the  thesis  that  like  every 
other  neurosis  homosexuality  arises  during  the 
fourth  year  and  that  the  task  of  analysis,  there- 
fore, must  be  to  reach  back  to  the  fourth  year.7 

Sadger  emphasized:  "From  the  very  first  I  as- 
sumed that  the  homosexual  tendencies  may  be  ac- 
quired only  if  they  are  formed  during  the  first  four 
years,  precisely  as  in  the  case  of  hysteria  and  com- 
pulsive neurosis  and  that  psychoanalysis  ought  to 
uncover  the  fact.  What  stood  beyond  psychoanaly- 
sis must  be  innate  and  corresponds  to  the  sexual 
constitution  proper." 

That  work,  extremely  one-sided  and  full  of  con- 
tradictions, still  attempts  to  reduce  homosexuality 
to  the  love  of  the  father.  The  mother  plays  a 
limited  role.  It  is  mentioned  passingly  that  the  sub- 
ject of  the  analysis  had  never  loved  a  being  so 
dearly  as  the  mother;  but  even  before  the  mother's 

'  Fragment  der  Psychoanalyse  eines  Homos exuellen  (Jahrb. 
f.  sexuelle  Zwischenstufen,  vol.  IX,  1908).  [A  typical  illus- 
tration of  the  wrong  way  of  carrying  on  a  psychoanalysis,  the 
kind  of  painful  ordeal  during  which  the  subject  calls  out  in 
distress:  "But,  pardon  me,  what  mmt  I  tell  you?  You  just 
torture  me,  nothing  less !"  The  most  important  relations  are 
overlooked,  the  patient  is  tortured  to  admit  that  he  is  in  love 
with  Sadger,  so  that  after  fourteen  hours  of  this  sort  of  tor- 
ment he  runs  off.] 


86  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

death  an  aunt  had  attracted  to  herself  the  boy's 
love. 

But  what  are  the  conclusions  drawn  by  Sadger 
from  the  case  ?  None  whatever !  He  is  pleased  that 
he  has  been  able  to  bring  to  light  such  interesting 
material  but  knows  not  what  to  do  with  it.  Among 
the  various  questions  and  answers  there  is  a  very 
significant  passage  suggesting  an  important  con- 
clusion. Concerning  his  attachment  to  the  mother 
the  subject  states:  "And  my  love  arose  chiefty 
through  compassion,  because  father  drank  a  great 
deal  lately  and  paid  attention  to  other  women  and 
mother  often  wept  and  that  made  me  feel  badly." 

That  is  a  fact  which  I  have  had  occasion  fre- 
quently to  corroborate.  The  children  of  drinkers 
and  "woman-chasers"  turn  easily  homosexual,  in 
the  endeavor  to  be  unlike  the  father.  They  then 
hate  woman  and  scorn  everything  that  the  father 
liked  in  particular.  They  become  abstinent  and  try 
to  behave  contrary  to  the  father  in  every  respect. 

Sadger's  patient  actually  points  out  this  ten- 
dency. He  states:  "Father  clearly  had  no  homo- 
sexual inclination  as  he  was  a  great  admirer  of 
women.  From  the  time  he  began  telling  me  about 
the  school — he  was  particularly  fond  of  French 
women — he  also  advised  me  to  marry  only  a  French 
woman  and  showed  me  French  pictures  and  the 
photos  of  various  French  women.  It  was  thus  in- 


The  Parental  Imago  37 

stilled  in  me  that  I  ought  to  marry  a  French  wom- 
an." And  what  did  the  father  accomplish  thereby? 
Was  it  jealousy  or  pity  and  love  for  the  mother? 
The  father  accomplished  the  contrary  of  what  he 
set  out  to  do.  Instead  of  obedience  he  was  met 
with  spite.  The  subject  relates :  "Later  when  I  be- 
came aware  of  my  homosexual  inclinations,  every- 
thing French-like  was  particularly  hateful  to  me, 
especially  the  French  women,  I  no  longer  liked  the 
French  language  or  anything  whatever  related  to 
French.  .  .  ." 

The  subject  had  a  pronounced  fear  of  marriage, 
having  seen  a  sad  example  of  it  in  his  own  home. 
He  dreams  of  getting  married,  a  minister  is  about 
to  perform  the  ceremony,  and  he  is  so  unhappy  in 
the  midst  of  it  that  upon  awakening  his  happiness 
knows  no  bounds.  He  fears  every  great  passion. 
"I  am  afraid  of  a  really  tremendous  love,  because 
such  a  passion  always  makes  me  unhappy."  The 
analysis  discloses  other  relations  to  the  father 
which  are  of  greatest  significance. 

The  feeling-attitude  in  question  dates  in  fact 
from  the  earliest  childhood.  As  yet  we  are  ignorant 
of  child  nature  and  we  do  not  fully  appreciate  that 
the  fundamental  traits  of  life  show  themselves  very 
definitely  during  early  childhood.  This  boy  must 
have  conceived  early  the  thought :  I  must  not  be  like 
the  father!  and  so  he  turned  away  from  women  be- 


38  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

cause  the  father  was  an  admirer  of  that  sex. 
Whether  this  choice  of  attitude  was  also  influenced 
directly  by  love  for  the  father  I  am  unable  to  assert 
in  that  particular  case.  It  seems  to  play  a  con- 
tributory role  and  greatly  denied  love  may  enhance 
the  child's  attachment  to  the  mother.  But  does  not 
the  example  of  a  drinking  "woman-chaser"  con- 
trasted to  the  picture  of  a  quiet  suffering  mother 
seem  to  be  enough  to  induce  the  differentiation  and 
to  maintain  it  as  its  underlying  determining  mo- 
tive? Back  of  the  homosexuality  of  the  first  case 
of  the  kind  analyzed  by  Sadger  stands  the  subject's 
fear  of  becoming  like  his  father.  The  violent  fancies 
disclosed  in  the  course  of  the  analysis  show  that 
there  are  also  other  reasons  for  the  subject's  fear 
of  woman.  He  is  so  constituted  that  he  cannot  see 
blood.  This  peculiarity  denotes  the  conversion  of 
a  craving  for  violence  and  signifies  a  repressed 
sadism. 

In  Russia  he  once  witnessed  how  a  man  split  his 
wife's  head  open  with  a  stone.  .  .  .  The  occurrence 
so  impressed  him  that  he  could  never  get  it  out  of 
his  mind,  and  he  also  likes  to  dwell  on  wars  and 
other  bloody  scenes. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  the  man  is  a  sadist  and 
that  with  reference  to  women  in  particular.  He 
has  full  reason  to  fear  woman.  His  fear  is  fear  of 
himself.  He  must  turn  to  man,  towards  whom  he 
does  not  feel  the  instinctive  sexual  hatred  which 


,  The  Parental  Imago  39 

makes  heterosexual  excitations  impossible  for  him. 
When  he  has  intercourse  with  a  woman,  he  feels 
subsequently  a  tremendous  disgust  and  revulsion, 
the  whole  thing  seems  to  him  unnatural.  In  the 
end  he  gives  up  all  such  attempts. 

Obviously  he  is  all  the  time  seeking  a  kindly  pre- 
eminent father  for  he  falls  in  love  with  an  elderly 
philosopher,  out  of  respect  for  philosophy,  as  he 
paralogizes,  because  he  looks  to  philosophy  to  re- 
deem him  from  his  suffering.  The  differentiation  is 
an  attempt  at  gaining  freedom,  a  tendency  to  over- 
come the  nature  of  the  father.  The  love  of  the 
philosopher  is  a  substitution  for  the  love  of  the 
father. 

Thus  we  see  the  importance  of  the  early  life  his- 
tory of  every  subject  for  the  understanding  of 
homosexuality.  The  constellation  of  childhood  per- 
mits the  reading  of  the  horoscope  for  the  future. 
Perhaps  this  uncontrovertible  truth  contains  the 
root  of  all  astrologic  art,  "the  planetary  laws  gov- 
erning the  facts  of  life."  The  father  as  the  sun, 
the  mother  as  the  milder  moon  and  the  children,  the 
stars.  Our  fate  arranges  itself  in  accordance  with 
the  constellation  of  these  planets.  Blind  accident 
and  innate  forces  cooperate  to  create  man  as  he  is. 

But  let  us  look  further  into  the  investigations  of 
Sadger  to  whom  the  credit  must  not  be  denied  of 
having  applied  himself  earnestly  to  the  attempt  of 
solving  the  problem  of  homosexuality. 


40  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

His  next  publication  appeared  also  in  1908.8 
Here  we  find  clearly  taken  into  account  the  infan- 
tile heterosexual  attitude  which  all  homosexuals 
usually  forget  but  which  always  precedes  genuine 
homosexuality. 

"The  young  student,  21  years  of  age  at  the  time, 
was  sent  to  me,  because  he  was  tormented  by  vari- 
ous homosexual  inclinations,  especially  directed  to- 
wards young  boys  14-20  years  of  age,  associated 
with  all  sorts  of  masochistic  feelings.  In  contact 
with  woman  (a  prostitute  with  whom  he  sought  in- 
tercourse three  times  till  then,  the  first  two  times 
spontaneously,  to  see  whether  he  is  at  all  potent, 
the  third  time,  on  medical  advice  as  well  as  upon 
his  father's  insistence)  he  found  himself  entirely 
impotent.  Questioned  whether  he  ever  felt  any  in- 
clination towards  the  opposite  sex,  he  only  recalls 
that  when  he  was  two  or  three  years  of  age  he  once 
opened  the  garden  gate  for  a  girl  of  about  his  own 
age,  with  a  flourish  of  extreme  gallantry.  Con- 
cerning any  hereditary  factors  he  can  only  relate 
that  a  brother  of  his  mother's  had  some  mental 
trouble.  The  mother  herself  seemed  to  have  some- 
thing boy-like  and  manly  about  her,  on  the  other 
hand  the  father  showed  very  little  sensuousness  and 
rather  pronounced  inverted  traits,  while  a  sister, 
who  died  early,  had  a  very  boy-like  facial  expression. 

*J.    Badger:     1st   die    kontrare   Sexitalempfindung    heilbar? 
Zeitschr.  f.  Sexualwissenschaft,  1908,  p.  712. 


Infantile  Heterosexuality  41 

She  preferred  boyish  games  and  at  4  or  5  years  of 
age  she  chose  a  boy's  hobby  horse  for  her  Christ- 
mas present.  Some  female  cousins — on  mother's  as 
well  as  on  father's  side — were  clearly  amphigen- 
ously  inverted.  The  subject  himself  had  unusually 
broad  hips  and  the  growth  of  his  facial  hair  was 
noticeably  scant.  As  a  child  he  is  supposed  to  have 
played  only  with  dolls,  never  with  soldiers,  he  never 
took  part  in  boys*  games  and  he  also  learned  em- 
broidery. 

"Plainly  a  clear  case  of  inversion  with  maso- 
chistic traits.  What  was  revealed  through  the 
analysis  of  this  particularly  intelligent  subject?  In 
the  first  place,  a  remarkable  peculiarity :  his  earliest 
inclinations  were  directed  towards  women, — not 
some  one  in  particular,  but  a  number  of  them.  His 
first  beloved  was  tlie  mother  and,  of  course,  after  a 
time  he  turned  away  from  her.  After  that  he  felt 
himself  tremendously  attracted  to  an  elderly  mother 
of  children,  proposed  marriage  to  her  and  that  woman 
later  figured  in  many  of  his  pubertal  coitus 
dreams.  Next  he  displayed  such  an  extreme  gal- 
lantry towards  a  girl  of  his  own  age  that  it  be- 
came very  noticeable  and  his  mother  spoke  to  him 
about  it  and  he  felt  very  ashamed  and  uneasy. 

"During  his  childhood  a  servant  maid  also  had 
made  a  deep  impression  on  his  feelings  and  she  re- 
appears in  various  male  types.  Among  the  homo- 
sexual inclinations  traceable  to  the  first  years  I 


42  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

look  upon  his  attachment  to  a  couple  of  uncles  as 
the  strongest  and  most  significant,  next  the  love 
of  a  9-year-old  boy  belonging  to  the  nobility 
(baron).  In  his  fourth  year  the  attachment  to  a 
boy  who  taught  him  masturbation,  in  his  sixth  and 
seventh  years  the  influence  of  a  private  teacher. 
During  his  fourth  year,  on  account  of  his  mother's 
condition,  following  childbirth,  he  slept  for  a  time 
with  his  father  in  one  bed  and  this  suggested  vari- 
ous homosexual  wishes  and  fancies.  When  a  little 
sister  came  into  the  world  he  promptly  fell  in  love 
with  her.  Even  more  striking  is  the  subject's  nor- 
mal sexual  calf-love  affairs  in  his  seventh  and 
eighth  years  with  three  or  four  schoolgirl  mates  of 
about  his  age.  It  turned  out  that  each  one  of  these 
girls  contributed  some  traits  to  the  types,  both 
male  and  female,  which  later  were  alone  capable  of 
rousing  his  emotional  interest. 

"These  facts,  of  which  the  subject  was  entirely 
unconscious  and  which  had  to  be  brought  to  surface 
after  months  of  diligent  analysis,  yield  an  entirely 
new  picture.  First  of  all  they  show  us  how  little 
even  the  most  intelligent  person  knows  himself,  and, 
consequently,  how  careful  we  must  be  in  accepting 
even  the  most  candid  statements.  Secondly, — that 
even  pure  cases  of  inversion  do  not  exclude  the 
presence  of  normal  sexual  inclinations,  indeed,  that 
the  latter  may  actually  be  present,  though  the  sub- 
ject be  unaware  of  the  fact.  Thirdly, — and 


Infantile  Hetero sexuality  43 

finally, — that  the  inversion  is  traceable  as  far  back 
as  the  fourth  year  although  it  may  reach  conscious- 
ness only  during  puberty." 

Here  already  I  must  point  out  the  first  contra- 
diction. It  is  not  a  fact  that  the  inversion  is  trace- 
able back  to  the  fourth  year.  I  have  analyzed  a 
number  of  cases  in  which  the  inversion  arose  after 
puberty  and  much  later.  The  beginnings  of  the 
homosexual  disposition  reach  into  childhood  with 
all  persons.  This  turning  away  from  the  other  sex 
may  break  forth  early  in  some  cases  and  in  others 
much  later.  But  it  is  a  fact  that  every  analysis 
discloses  the  heterosexual  trait  which  the  homo- 
sexuals forget,  or  speaking  more  correctly,  repress, 
because  it  does  not  appear  to  fit  into  their  system. 
Analytically  this  case  of  Sadger's  seems  to  me  to  be 
an  instance  of  fixation  upon  the  sister.  The  boys 
are  substitutes  for  the  sister.  We  will  give  the 
histories  of  several  such  cases.  He  who  understands 
the  neurotic's  art  of  metamorphosing  his  ideals,  he 
who  has  learned  through  their  dreams  to  appre- 
ciate this  trick  of  substitution,  will  readily  appre- 
ciate that  a  girl  may  be  loved  through  falling  in 
love  with  a  boy.  It  is  related  of  Platen  that  he 
possessed  a  marvelous  phantasy.  For  a  long  time 
a  colleague  was  changed  for  him  into  an  owl  whom 
he  avoided  on  the  way.  In  Neapel  he  kept  for  days 
a  cat  on  his  lap  pretending  it  was  an  enchanted 


44  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

princess.  Genuine  fetichism  shows  to  what  unbe- 
lievable metamorphoses  the  sexual  ideal  is  subjected. 
With  the  homosexuals  to  find  a  boy  who  stands  as 
symbol  for  self  or  for  a  sister  is  a  common  experi- 
ence. Like  all  neurotics  they  do  not  possess  the 
capacity  to  distinguish  between  the  world  of  fancy 
and  that  of  reality.  I  have  called  neurosis  the 
tyranny  of  symbolisms.  This  is  particularly  true 
of  the  neurotic  who  becomes  homosexual.  All 
values  are  transformed,  the  object  becomes  subject 
and  vice  versa.  In  the  midst  of  this  transforma- 
tion of  all  facts  one  thing  remains  fast  and  true: 
the  infantile  ideal  which  is  yearned  for  with  the  per- 
sistence generated  by  the  eternally  ungratified 
craving. 

In  his  next  contribution  Sadger  reports  the  re- 
sults of  the  analysis  of  an  invert  during  a  period  of 
six  months  (Zur  JEtiologie  der  kontraren  Sexual- 
empfindung,  Med.  Klinik,  1909,  No.  2).  The  spe- 
cial preference  of  his  patient  for  passive  pederasty 
he  traces  to  the  frequent  use  of  enemas  during  child- 
hood. (In  fact  it  seems  to  me  that  the  many  un- 
necessary enemas  administered  during  early  child- 
hood may  contribute  towards  the  fixation  of  the 
anus  as  an  erogenous  zone.)  He  also  traces  out  in 
this  case  the  repressed  heterosexuality.  "The  va- 
cillations of  the  libido  between  male  and  female  are 
like  the  facial  innervation  which,  as  is  well  known, 


Early  Fixation  45 

is  based  on  the  equilibrium  between  the  muscles  in- 
nervated simultaneously  by  the  pair  of  facialis 
nerves.  Paralysis  of  the  facialis  nerve  on  one  side 
causes  not  only  weakness  of  the  muscles  on  the  af- 
fected side  but  induces  also  contractures  of  the 
muscles  on  the  opposite  side."  The  patient  re- 
ferred to  was  attached  exclusively  to  his  father, 
who,  himself  somewhat  homosexually  inclined,  won 
the  child's  heart  through  his  excessive  tenderness, 
in  contrast  to  the  rather  severe  mother.  During 
his  fourth  year,  on  account  of  the  mother's  preg- 
nant state,  he  slept  with  his  father,  an  occurrence 
to  which  Sadger  attaches  great  significance.  The 
objects  of  the  boy's  homosexual  attachments  bore 
some  resemblance  to  the  beloved  sister.  He  weaned 
himself  away  from  his  attachment  to  his  mother 
during  his  fifteenth  year,  when  he  saw  his  mother 
deformed  with  a  tremendous  ascites  on  account  of 
which  she  had  to  be  tapped  a  number  of  times.  Her 
appearance  at  the  time  filled  him  with  disgust  for 
all  women.  As  over-determination  of  this  feeling- 
attitude  of  aversion  he  recalls  the  following:  after 
the  puerperium  referred  to  above  his  mother  had  a 
profuse  leucorrheal  discharge  which  the  boy,  al- 
ready sensitive  to  all  scents — he  was  four  years  of 
age  at  the  time — found  very  repulsive  whenever  he 
approached  his  mother.  The  subject  also  recalls 
vividly  how  his  mother  repulsed  his  aggressive  ways 
with  her,  between  his  3rd  and  6th  year.  ("He 


46  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

always  wanted  to  grab  her  by  the  breasts  and  tried 
to  go  to  her  room  and  to  the  bathroom  as  soon  as 
she  went  in.") 

Much  as  physicians  unacquainted  with  infantile 
sexuality  may  ignore  such  aggressions  they  do  take 
place  and  some  mothers  have  verified  them  for  me. 
On  the  other  hand  it  is  hardly  likely  that  a  child 
four  years  of  age  should  be  repelled  from  the  mother 
on  account  of  scent.  At  that  early  age  scent  is 
rather  a  stimulant  and  is  never  accompanied  by 
disgust. 

I  turn  now  to  the  last  and  most  comprehensive 
deductions  formulated  by  Sadger  in  his  study  en- 
titled: Ein  Fall  von  multipler  perversion  mit  hys- 
terischen  Absenzen  ('A  case  of  multiple  perversions 
with  hysterical  amnesias*).9 

This  work  contains  a  chapter  entitled  "New  Con- 
tributions to  the  Theory  of  Homosexuality."  Here 
Sadger  abandons  entirely  his  former  notion  about 
the  significance  of  the  fourth  year  and  states : 
"Permanent  inclination  towards  one's  own  sex 
usually  comes  to  surface  and  is  certainly  increased 
during  puberty,  or  during  the  prepubescent  period 
at  the  earliest,  in  our  latitude  around  the  tenth  or 
eleventh  year.  Occasionally  an  earlier  onset  is  re- 
corded and  every  case  of  that  kind  is  due  to  some 
special  factors."  Permanent  homosexuality  is  es- 

•  Jahrb.   f.  psychoanalytische  u.  psychopathol.  Forschungen, 
vol.  II,  1910. 


Early  Fixation  47 

tablished  through  some  significant  incident  which 
leads  to  the  repression  of  the  mother  in  her  role  as 
helper  and  teacher.  Such  incidents  are  death, 
sudden  financial  reverse,  and  consequent  serious 
neurosis,  making  sanatorium  treatment  necessary, 
inconsiderate  persecution  of  the  boy  on  account  of 
masturbation  and  similar  traumata.  The  love  feel- 
ing is  turned  from  the  mother  to  the  father,  or  to 
older  comrades,  or  to  comrades  of  about  the  same 
age,  who  stand  as  substitutes  for  the  mother  and 
initiate  the  boy  into  the  facts  of  love.  .  .  ." 

The  path  to  homosexuality  leads  over  love  of 
self,  through  narcissism.  "The  state  of  being  in  love 
with  one's  own  person,  which  shows  itself  also  in  the 
admiration  of  one's  own  genitalia  (sic),  is  never 
absent  as  a  developmental  phase."  Every  person 
has  two  aboriginal  sexual  objectives  to  which  he 
clings  throughout  life:  the  mother  and  self.  The 
father  replaces  self  only  for  a  short  period  be- 
cause as  the  primary  rival  in  his  relationship  to 
the  mother  the  child  early  assumes  an  antagonistic 
attitude  towards  him.  The  urning  hates  woman  for 
an  obvious  reason:  "when  the  best  of  women,  my 
own  mother,  amounts  to  no  more  than  that,  what 
can  there  be  to  any  other  woman?" 

Here  follows  a  convincing  proof  that  the  urning 
identifies  himself  with  his  mother.  The  urning  al- 
ways plans  to  instruct  his  beloved,  for  the  mother 
does  it.  (Does  not  the  father,  rather,  do  it?)  The 


48  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

patient  has  instructed  a  waiter  in  geology  and  his- 
tory of  art,  subjects  which  did  not  interest  the 
latter.  But  the  mother  had  done  the  same.  .  .  . 

Most  urnings  are  said  to  be  "only"  children. 
(This  statement  like  many  another  of  Sadger's,  is 
positively  false.  Among  500  homosexuals  Hirsch- 
feld  found  only  67  "only"  children  and  among  them 
only  54  were  sons.  My  own  statistical  figures  are 
even  smaller.  But  the  percentage  among  my  neu- 
rotics is  practically  the  same.) 

Sadger  summarizes  his  findings  in  five  funda- 
mental statements: 

"1.  The  urnmg  is  a  victim  of  withdrawal  from 
the  mother  (the  first  caretaker  or  nurse,  respec- 
tively) in  whom  he  is  himself  seriously  disappointed. 
He  represses  the  mother  by  identifying  himself  com- 
pletely with  her. 

2.  The  path  to  homosexuality  leads  through  nar- 
cissism, that  is,  love  of  self,  as  one  was,  or  as  one 
may  ideally  be. 

3.  The  sexual  ideal  of  the  invert  includes  not 
only  traits  of  former  female  and  male  sexual  ob- 
jectives but  also  features  of  one's  own  beloved  self. 

4.  Being  brought  up  in  surroundings  exclusively 
feminine — the  father  does  not   count  in  such  cir- 
cumstances— fosters  homosexuality  in  the  male  as 
well  as  in  the  female,  for  reasons  that  are  not  suf- 


Sadger's  Conclusions  49 

ficiently    clear    as    yet.      Moreover   the   urning    is 
usually  an  only  child. 

5.  Finally  inversion  may  be  fostered  by  a  sort 
of  'latter-day  obedience'  to  the  mother's  commands. 
I  have  observed  not  rarely  that  mothers  warn  their 
children  against  harmless,  though  warm  and  friendly 
contact  with  the  other  sex,  as  something  unpermis- 
sible  and  bad  and  that  the  teaching  thus  instilled 
may  unfortunately  increase  the  disposition  to  one's 
own  sex  through  later  obedience." 

The  first  of  these  conclusions  is  a  false  one.  The 
homosexual  is  not  a  victim  of  withdrawal  from  the 
mother,  but  rather  of  a  fixation  on  her.  But  this 
subject  will  be  discussed  fully  later. 

One  represses  no  person  with  whom  one  identifies 
one's  self.  Identification  is  direct  love,  differentia- 
tion means  repression.  Many  homosexuals  identify 
themselves  with  the  mother — of  that  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  But  that  identification  already  implies 
the  repression  of  the  father-ideal.  The  problem  of 
homosexuality  cannot  be  solved  one-sidedly,  and  I 
have  the  records  of  a  number  of  cases  in  which  the 
mother  plays  no  role  whatever. 

The  only  psychologic  hypothesis  we  possess — 
Sadger's — fails  to  satisfy  on  account  of  its  one- 
sidedness.  It  holds  true  of  certain  cases.  But  it 
neglects  entirely  the  great  significance  of  sadism, 


50  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

it  overlooks  the  fact  that  the  attachment  to  the 
father  is  more  important  and  more  deeply  repressed 
than  the  love  for  the  mother,  it  overlooks  entirely 
the  identification  with  the  father  and  the  differentia- 
tion from  him  and  it  fails  altogether  to  explain  the 
occurrence  of  later  homosexuality,  which  is  of  par- 
ticular interest  to  us  (tardive  Homosexualitat). 
The  awakening  of  homosexuality  is  ascribed  to  a 
period  which  varies  according  to  the  different  in- 
vestigators all  the  way  from  the  fifth  to  the  twen- 
tieth year,  and  even  later.  I  mention  here  the  ages 
shown  in  the  first  twenty  of  my  cases  taken  at  ran- 
dom. Homosexuality  became  manifest  at  12,  10,  12, 
15,  16,  22,  13,  11,  14,  8,  14,  12,  17,  17,  17,  13,  21, 
15,  17,  24  (Average,  15). 

The  ages  as  given  are  generally  high, — only  in 
one  subject  did  the  homosexual  attitude  become 
manifest  as  early  as  the  eighth  year.  But  that, 
certainly,  is  incorrect.  For  we  know  that  the  homo- 
sexual leaning  is  present  already  during  the  earliest 
period  and  positively  that  children's  feeling-attitude 
is  bisexual  during  the  first  few  years.  The  figures 
are  significant  only  as  showing  us  that  "genuine 
homosexuality"  is  preceded  by  a  lengthy  period  of 
latency. 


n 


ROLE    OF    THE    FATHER    AND    OF    OTHER    MEMBERS    OF 

THE  FAMILY DISLIKE  OF  CHILDREN LETTER  OF 

A    HOMOSEXUAL    WHO    FEARS    THE   "PENETRATING 

EYE"  OF  WOMEN A  MARRIAGE  WITH  THE  FATHER 

JEALOUSY    OF    THE    FATHER A    HOMOSEXUAL 

WHO     HATES    HIS    MOTHER A     BELOVED     BOY    AS 

THE     IMAGO     OF     THE     SISTER PSYCHOLOGY     OF 

LOVE  WITHIN  THE  FAMILY  CIRCLE FEAR  OF  THE 

CHILD A     GIRL     WHO     HATES     ALL     CHILDREN 

DIFFERENTIATION    FROM    THE    MOTHER. 


Wenn  wir  nun  alles  dieses  uns  vergegenwartigen 
und  wohl  erwagen  so  sehen  wir  die  Pdderastie  zu 
alien  Zeiten  und  in  alien  Landern  auf  eine  weise 
auftreten,  die  gar  weit  entfernt  ist  von  der,  welche 
wir  zuerst,  als  wir  sie  bloss  an  sich  selbst  betrach- 
teten,  also  a  priori,  vorausgesetzt  hatten.  Nam- 
lich  die  gdnzliche  Allgemeinheit  und  beharrliche 
Unausrottbarkeit  der  Sache  beweist,  dass  sie 
irgendwie  aus  der  menschlichen  Natur  selbst 
herausgeht;  da  sie  nur  aus  diesem  Grunde  jederzeit 
and  uberall  unausbleiblich  auftreten  kann  als  Beleg 
zu  dem  naturam  expelles  furca,  tamen  usque  re- 
current. — Schopenhauer. 


II 


Considering  all  that  and  taking  everything  care- 
fully into  account  we  find  that  pederasty  has  been 
manifest  at  all  times  and  in  all  countries  in  a  man- 
ner very  unlike  what  we  had  at  first  presumed  a 
priori,  that  is,  by  considering  abstractly  the  sub- 
ject. Precisely  its  complete  universality  and  ir- 
radicable  character  everywhere  shows  that  the  thing 
somehow  flows  out  of  human  nature  itself;  only  in 
that  way  could  it  persist  at  all  times  and  every- 
where as  an  accompaniment  to  naturam  expelles 
furca,  tamen  usque  recurrent. 

— Schopenhauer. 

I  begin  this  chapter  with  the  history  of  a  case, 
a  subject  with  whom  I  have  never  spoken.  I  know 
him  only  through  correspondence.  Nevertheless  the 
case  seems  to  me  of  great  significance  as  it  substan- 
tiates many  of  my  previous  conclusions.  The  need 
of  psychologic  insight  as  shown  by  our  necessarily 
brief  histories  of  homosexuals  becomes  more  fully 
obvious  as  we  become  acquainted  with  a  complete 
analysis  of  a  homosexual. 

62.     Mr.  G.  L.  writes  me: 
53 


54  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

"I  shall  attempt  to  conform  with  your  request 
and  give  you  a  cursive  and  true  insight  into  my 
sexual  and  mental  life.  Born  and  raised  the  young- 
est of  ten  children,  three  of  whom  died  early  of 
children's  diseases,  I  lived  in  the  country  till  my 
5th  year,  when  I  started  going  to  school  and  I  re- 
member nothing  of  that  period  except  that  I 
was  tremendously  fond  of  playing  with  fire  and 
that  I  kept  up  till  then,  more  or  less,  the  habit  of 
bed-wetting,  an  act  which  was  associated  with  the 
pleasurable  feeling  that  I  was  sitting  on  the  cham- 
ber. I  know  also  that  I  envied  my  sisters  a  great 
deal.  My  unusually  strict  and  religious  parents 
naturally  subjected  me  to  rigorous  training  and  thus 
I  learned  early  to  distinguish  between  mine  and 
thine,  good  and  evil,  truth  and  falsehood.  Contin- 
ually watched  over  by  parents  and  instructors — a 
custom  contrary  to  the  modern  spirit — I  was  kept 
from  many  of  the  children's  games. 

"When  I  did  play,  it  was  mostly  with  boys  and  I 
do  not  recall  having  preferred  the  company  of  girls. 
My  free  time  was  taken  up  a  great  deal  with  agri- 
cultural pursuits  and  I  was  about  8  years  of  age 
when  the  first  sexual  episode  took  place  which  left 
an  impression  on  my  mind,  having  witnessed  that 
year  how  some  boys  of  my  own  age  played  with  the 
sexual  parts  of  a  dog  and,  another  time,  how  the 
same  boys  played  with  their  own  sexual  parts,  tak- 
ing one  another's  member  in  the  mouth, — but  with- 


Early  Life  History  55 

out  feeling  on  my  part  any  desire  to  imitate  them. 
With  girls  I  came  but  little  into  contact  as  a  child, 
but  I  remember  once  having  been  present  when  sev- 
eral boys;  11-12  years  of  age,  abused  a  girl  but  I 
took  no  part  in  the  deed.  At  about  that  period  I 
put  on  women's  clothes  a  few  times  though  today  a 
man  in  women's  clothes  rather  disgusts  me.  Two 
incidents  concerning  me  personally  are  still  vivid 
in  my  memory,  namely,  playing  once  with  my  priv- 
ates, in  the  presence  of  other  boys,  and  another 
time,  warmly  embracing  the  naked  body  of  another 
boy  while  playing  a  'mother  and  father'  game. 
Thirteen  years  thus  passed  with  nothing  eventful 
taking  place,  except  a  fall  from  a  tree  as  the  result 
of  which  I  hurt  myself  rather  seriously.  It  was  at 
that  period  that  my  teacher,  who  considered  me  not 
only  a  bright  boy  but  a  model  student  as  well,  pre- 
vailed upon  my  struggling  parents  to  permit  me 
to  continue  my  schooling.  I  was  able  to  secure,  in 
fact,  a  free  scholarship  at  an  Institute.  Shortly 
after  that  a  schoolmate  grew  attached  to  me  and  he 
taught  me  to  masturbate.  Although  I  had  already 
erections,  there  was  no  seminal  loss,  probably  on 
account  of  deficient  development.  He  and  another 
schoolmate  prevailed  on  me  to  masturbate  then — 
but  nothing  more.  About  that  time  other  comrades 
were  in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  some  girl  or  other, 
admiring  her  beauty.  This  talk  about  a  'pretty 
girV  struck  me  as  strange,  so  far  as  I  remember. 


56  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

It  was  during  my  second  high  school  year  (gym- 
nasial-klasse), — I  may  have  been  just  over  my  14th 
year,  at  the  time, — when  a  teacher  appeared  in  class 
with  the  trousers  absent-mindedly  unbuttoned  and 
when  I  noticed  it  my  eyes  became  glued  on  his 
trouser  fly  as  though  in  a  trance,  and  thus  I  awoke, 
for  the  first  time,  to  the  sad  realization  of  my  sexual 
bend.  From  that  time  on  I  noticed  that  I  was  ex- 
traordinarily attracted  to  this  teacher  although  he 
did  not  like  me  in  school.  It  was  then  that  my  first 
struggles,  the  first  wishes  in  my  awakened  boyish 
soul,  began  to  shape  themselves.  There  were  two 
boys  in  particular  who,  among  others,  charmed  me 
with  their  attractiveness.  I  masturbated  a  great 
deal  during  that  period,  without  indulging  in  any 
particular  phantasies, — occasionally  in  the  company 
of  other  boys.  But  I  had  the  feeling  of  being  sex- 
ually attracted  to  boys  and  in  my  dreams  appeared 
the  wish  to  be  their  friend.  But  the  stimuli  were 
not  of  a  character  which  I  found  impossible  to  curb. 
Next  I  felt  myself  irresistibly  attracted  to  an  el- 
derly man.  Neither  in  the  waking  state  nor  in  my 
dreams  did  I  think  at  all  of  women  during  that  time. 
Around  my  18th  year  I  experienced  the  first  stormy 
upheaval  which  nearly  unbalanced  me.  I  came  into 
close  touch  with  a  distant  relative,  an  attractive, 
interesting  and  splendid  intellectual  man  who,  more- 
over, was  happily  married.  I  then  passed  through 
the  anguish  of  unrequited  love,  kept  dreaming  of 


Homosexual  Fixation  57 

what  was  beyond  my  reach,  and  endeavored  to  still 
my  unnatural  passion  through  excessive  onanism. 
The  keen  struggle  to  preserve  my  secret,  the  intense 
mental  torture,  caused  me  one  day  to  break  down. 
The  strict  but  kind-hearted  talk  of  my  relative  in 
whom,  of  necessity,  I  forced  myself  to  confide,  saved 
me  that  time  from  suicide.  The  next  day  the  house 
physician  was  called,  a  cordial  and  kindly  young 
man,  who  took  a  strong  professional  interest  in  me. 
Day  after  day  he  spoke  to  me  and  tried  to  influence 
my  mind  and  he  succeeded  in  shifting  my  sexual  feel- 
ings entirely  into  the  background  and  in  about  five 
months  he  thought  I  was  ready  to  try  regular  in- 
tercourse. But  the  attempt  proved  a  new  defeat 
for  me.  The  secret  aversion,  the  fear  of  infection, 
made  me  prove  myself  impotent  at  the  critical  mo- 
ment. But  I  did  not  tell  the  physician  and  shortly 
thereafter  he  dismissed  me  as  cured.  There  followed 
again  years  of  struggle.  Fearing  mental  break- 
down I  was  driven  to  the  idea  of  seeking  final  re- 
lease through  suicide.  But  I  lacked  courage  for 
the  deed.  .  .  .  Was  it  cowardice,  was  it  the  yearn- 
ing of  my  sickly  body  that  prevented  me  from  end- 
ing then  a  life  unblessed  by  a  single  experience  of 
that  highest  yearning  of  a  healthy  body, — the  con- 
summation of  love?  During  that  time  my  relative 
also  died  and  my  anguish  was  unbearable.  For  I 
was  absorbed  in  that  great  passion  of  mine  so  deeply 
that  I  had  forgotten  all  about  the  rest  of  the  world. 


58  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

I  was  hardly  reconciled  to  that  misfortune  when 
further  anguish  came  into  my  life;  several  men 
crossed  my  path  with  whom  I  would  have  no  doubt 
entered  into  intimacy  if  I  had  found  any  points  of 
contact.  In  my  despairing  mood  I  confided  in 
Hofrat  W.,  who  consoled  me  saying  that  my  mis- 
fortune could  not  be  very  deep  rooted  since  I  had 
come  to  him  about  it.  He  advised  me  to  seek  in- 
timacy with  girls  (I  came  a  great  deal  in  contact 
with  girls  in  the  course  of  my  daily  work  and  also 
forced  myself  to  learn  dancing).  In  accordance 
with  his  advice  I  resorted  to  puellae  publicae  and 
had  intercourse  a  number  of  times  but  without  par- 
ticular pleasure  or  satisfaction.  Yes,  I  went  so  far 
as  to  propose  marriage  to  a  girl  of  a  good  family. 
It  was  my  fate  not  to  meet  with  a  favorable  re- 
sponse, although  secretly  I  was  gratified  at  that. 
For  I  could  not  think  that  my  supreme  passion  in- 
timately and  indissolubly  linked  to  the  nature,  the 
appearance  and  form  of  boyhood  and  charming  old 
age  would  ever  be  overcome.  Springtide  and  au- 
tumn, boyhood  and  old  age,  evoke  in  me  the  wonders 
of  development  and  suggest  the  soft  quiet  stealing 
in  of  blissful  eternal  peace.  Although  the  sense  of 
touch  alone  is  enough  to  rouse  in  me  the  most  won- 
derful feeling  of  bliss,  contact  with  a  woman  leaves 
me  indifferent,  if  it  does  not  actually  inspire  me 
with  disgust.  Thus  I  kept  up  for  a  time  longer, 
greatly  agitated  but  unyielding,  the  fear  of  being 


Homosexual  Fixation  59 

discovered  keeping  me  back.  Tortured  at  night  by 
the  yearnings  of  the  day  while  dreaming  of  endless 
bliss  by  conjuring  up  the  most  intimate  scenes  de- 
picting contact,  dreaming  and  thinking  also  of  oral 
(lip)  contact,  but  never  of  any  love  act  a  posteriori. 
In  terror  of  being  found  out — I  blushed  at  the 
lightest  pointed  joke  when  in  company — I  often 
thought  of  joining  the  foreign  legion  or  to  migrate 
to  some  country  where  homosexual  love  is  not  looked 
upon  as  a  crime  or  as  something  shameful. 

"Often  I  heard  of  places  where  persons  of  my 
bent  may  be  found  but  I  never  had  the  courage  to 
look  them  up,  fearing  that  I  would  be  recognized, 
that  I  would  be  put  to  shame  and  that  I  should  lose 
my  means  of  subsistence.  I  am  particularly  pained 
at  the  thought  that  I  must  pass  for  an  inferior 
dissolute  type  while  millions  and  millions  of  insig- 
nificant tramps  are  placed  on  a  higher  level  in  the 
eyes  of  the  law,  enjoy  life  and  are  even  honored 
and  respected  while  I,  in  spite  of  possessing  the 
qualities  of  a  truer  manhood,  must  waste  my  life 
in  joyless  existence.  Two  women  came  into  my  life 
with  whom  I  became  somewhat  intimate,  one  attract- 
ing me  temporarily  because  her  physical  appearance 
was  like  that  of  a  boy  underdeveloped,  the  other, 
because  I  was  at  the  time  under  the  influence  of 
alcohol.  But  I  noticed  in  connection  with  those  two 
experiences  that  I  felt  no  particular  satisfaction 
during  bodily  contact  with  the  women  or  while  kiss- 


60  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

ing  them,  in  fact,  many  women  cause  me  nausea  if 
I  go  much  as  take  food  out  of  their  hand.  Several 
puellae  publicae  have  tried  to  rouse  my  sexual  feel- 
ings (lambent es  glandem  membri),  but  in  spite  of 
erection  I  felt  no  particular  pleasure,  and  the  act 
was  always  followed  by  a  feeling  of  despair — the 
same  old  story.  Sometimes  in  my  anguish  I  sought 
the  church  and  there  I  broke  into  tears  and  I  yearn- 
ingly clasped  my  hands  in  prayer  without  being  a 
believer  at  heart.  Ofttimes  I  thought  my  mind  must 
be  affected  and  thought  I  had  to  go  to  an  asylum 
for  the  insane  but  it  would  make  my  trouble  known 
to  do  so  and  I  feared  I  should  have  to  forego  con- 
tact with  men  forever  after  that.  Occasionally  7 
dreamed  also  of  women,  but  without  any  particular 
feelings,  while  if  I  dreamed  of  clasping  in  a  warm 
embrace  or  only  touching  or  even  merely  looking  at 
a  boy,  or  at  an  elderly  man,  I  felt  great  pleasure. 
I  dreamed  of  contact  with  the  lips.  Something  more 
about  the  family :  On  account  of  father's  strict  dis- 
cipline /  inclined  more  to  mother  who  was  more  in- 
dulgent. One  of  four  sisters  is  married,  also  both 
brothers,  happy  and  satisfied,  I  believe.  (I  am  very 
bashful  with  all  my  relations,  old  and  young.)  One 
uncle  only  showed  eccentricities  and  he  remained 
single.  All  my  other  habits  of  life  are  not  unlike 
those  of  any  normal  young  man,  I  have  friends  who 
are  married  and  who  are  unaware  of  my  condition. 
But  time  after  time  I  am  tremendously  agitated  on 


Fear  of  the  "Penetrating  Eye"  01 

account  of  my  mental  struggle.  Finally,  to  con- 
clude: my  dear  doctor,  you  cannot  prevail  upon  me 
again  to  try  to  look  you  up  at  your  office  because 
the  penetrating  look  of  your  office  girl  inspires  me 
with  the  fear  that  my  condition  is  recognized  and 
diagnosed  at  a  glance.  If  you  feel  inclined  to  ad- 
vise me  how  best  to  withstand  this  craving  or  to 
mention  some  country  where  I  may  go,  I  should  be 
very  grateful  to  you — if  not,  I  have  learned  to  bear 
defeat."  .  .  . 

One  of  the  usual  confessions,  overlooking  most 
important  features.  The  self-incriminating  feeling 
of  the  masochist  who  has  "learned  to  bear  defeat," 
is  indicated  by  the  ridiculous  fear  of  the  "penetrat- 
ing look"  of  my  office  girl.  This  fear  would  prob- 
ably be  traced  through  analysis  to  his  sadistic  atti- 
tude towards  women.  There  are  a  number  of  other 
interesting  statements.  He  belongs  to  a  family  of 
many  children,  a  severe  father,  a  negligent  mother, 
he  is  jealously  envious  of  his  sisters.  A  large  num- 
ber of  homosexual  episodes  are  related  about  his 
childhood  and  his  habit  of  putting  on  women's 
clothes.  That  shows  clearly  the  tendency  to  iden- 
tify himself  with  the  mother  or  sister.  But  why 
did  he  want  to  be  a  woman?  Why  did  he  want  to 
assume  the  role  of  mother?  He  wanted  to  supply 
a  woman,  to  substitute  the  mother  to  his  father. 
Here  it  was  the  strong  father  who  so  attracted  the 


62  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

boy  that  the  latter  wanted  to  be  everything  to  him. 
Subsequently  he  falls  in  love  repeatedly  with  elderly 
men  who  stand  for  substitutes  of  his  father.  The 
elderly  man  is  always  the  Imago  of  the  father. 
During  the  homosexual  episodes  with  elderly  men, 
either  actual  or  occurring  merely  in  the  boy's  fancy, 
he  finds  himself  still  a  child  towards  whom  the  father 
displays  tenderness  and  who  is  permitted  by  the 
father  to  carry  on  fellatio  upon  the  latter.  He  is 
also  drawn  to  young  boys.  There  he  plays  the  role 
of  the  father  while  the  boy  supplies  the  picture  of 
his  own  youth. 

Interesting  is  his  distinct  disgust  at  women  which 
disappears  after  alcoholic  drinks  enough  so  as  to 
enable  him  to  carry  out  coitus.  He  was  also  near 
falling  in  love  with  a  girl  who  had  a  boyish  appear- 
ance. That  betrays  certain  relations  between  boy 
and  girl.  The  boys  are  loved  when  they  show  the 
traits  of  a  beloved  sister,  the  old  men  when  they 
recall  the  father. 

His  path  towards  woman  is  blocked.  Disgust  and 
fear  of  infections  cover  more  significant  motives 
bearing  a  religious  coloring.  Every  prostitute  be- 
comes the  sister,  a  younger  edition  of  the  mother. 
Without  analysis  the  genesis  of  this  paraphilia  can- 
not be  understood.  He  avoids  me  because  he  is 
unwilling  to  discover  the  truth.  The  over-severe 
father  seems  to  have  roused  in  him  the  yearning  for 
a  kindlier  one  and  to  have  determined  the  develop- 


The  Father  Imago  C3 

ment  of  his  feeling-attitude.     An  attachment  to  the 
sister  seems  also  clearly  discernible. 

63.  Mr.  T.  D.,  26  years  of  age,  has  struggled 
vainly  for  years  against  his  homosexual  disposi- 
tion. He  is  attracted  to  old,  gray-bearded  men,  who 
always  represent  to  his  mind  an  erotic  ideal,  and 
loves  to  be  in  their  company,  go  on  walks  with  them, 
play  cards  or  perform  music,  and  loves  also  the 
company  of  very  simple  fellows,  preferably  sailor- 
men,  plasterers,  and  soldiers,  and  among  the  latter 
prefers  artillerists.  His  sexual  activity  consists  in 
holding  the  friend's  membrum  virile  in  his  hand  and 
giving  his  own  to  be  held  by  the  other  likewise. 
Orgasm  follows  rapidly  at  that.  After  the  deed, 
regrets  and  strong  avowals  never  to  repeat  it.  The 
last  time  he  tried  it  a  watchman  caught  him  in  the 
act  and  brought  him  together  with  his  companion, 
a  workingman,  to  court. 

Analysis  discloses  the  following  facts :  He  has 
repeatedly  tried  to  have  intercourse  with  women  but 
each  time  great  fear  and  disgust  prevented.  Strong 
erections,  but  before  i?nmissio  penis,  the  membrum 
turns  soft  and  useless.  Accomplishment  of  the  or- 
gasm through  manual  friction  of  the  organ  by  the 
woman's  hand  is  possible,  but  is  followed  by  a  pow- 
erful feeling-attitude  of  disgust  and  he  must  leave 
immediately.  He  has  had  various  opportunities  to 
become  intimate  with  certain  women  and  girls,  they 


64  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

have  even  incited  him  to  it,  but  he  does  not  feel 
tempted. 

His  family  history  is  as  follows:  He  is  the  only 
son  of  a  very  kindly  man  who  died  four  years  pre- 
viously. The  mother  died  at  his  birth  and  that  has 
established  in  his  mind  an  intimate  association  be- 
tween coitus  and  death.  He  cannot  help  thinking 
of  that  association  when  with  women.  His  father 
was  extraordinarily  tender  with  him,  and  for  his 
sake  never  married  again.  When  he  was  still  young 
his  father  always  played  with  him,  devoting  to  him 
all  his  spare  time.  Later  their  relationship  became 
even  more  intimate.  There  was  a  sort  of  marriage 
situation  with  his  father. 

He  began  to  masturbate  at  a  very  early  age  and 
claims  to  have  indulged  in  phantasies  only  about 
common  men,  imagining  they  were  handling  his 
membrum  virile. 

His  attachment  to  his  father  was  decidedly  mor- 
bid. If  the  father  stayed  away  from  the  house  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  longer  than  usual,  he  began  to 
cry  and  could  not  be  consoled.  The  whole  object  of 
his  life  was  to  bring  joy  to  his  father  and  to  replace 
in  the  latter's  life  the  lost  mother.  When  the  father 
fell  ill  he  took  it  so  much  to  heart  that  it  was  feared 
his  mind  would  break  down.  After  the  death  of  his 
father  he  attempted  suicide  and  was  thwarted  in 
the  act  by  his  father's  faithful  servant.  He  made 
all  sorts  of  resolutions,  among  others,  not  to  mas- 


The  Father  Imago  65 

turbate  during  the  year  of  mourning.  He  did  not 
live  up  to  that.  ...  At  first  he  is  unable  to  recall 
heterosexual  episodes  from  his  childhood  and  his 
memory  fails  him  equally  regarding  homosexual 
facts.  But  suddenly  the  cloud  which  seemed  to  cover 
his  childhood  lifts  and  a  vast  number  of  reminis- 
cences come  to  surface,  showing  the  developmental 
course  of  his  homosexual  tendency.  His  father  had 
always  been  a  strong  admirer  of  the  other  sex  and 
even  as  a  child  he  had  observed  that  the  father  was 
maintaining  intimate  relations  with  the  nurse,  the 
cook,  as  well  as  with  the  maid  servant.  Once  he 
surprised  his  father  in  the  act  of  embracing  the 
cook  while  the  two  were  alone  in  the  room.  The 
irate  father  boxed  his  ear  because  he  entered  with- 
out knocking  at  the  door.  That  was  one  of  the 
rare  occasions  on  which  his  father  punished  him. 
He  also  overheard  at  night  how  his  father  crawled 
into  the  nurse's  bed,  who  was  still  very  young  and 
pretty  at  the  time  and  carried  on  all  sorts  of  doings 
with  her.  Later  he  received  private  instruction  from 
a  male  tutor  who  conformed  to  the  genius  loci  and 
was  also  intimate  with  the  servant  girl.  As  a  child 
he  often  wished  he  were  a  woman  so  as  to  take  the 
cook's  place  in  gratifying  his  father.  The  father 
seemed  to  fear  that  the  boy  might  fall  into  the 
women's  hands  and  did  not  delay  warning  his  son 
with  appropriate  teachings.  At  12  years  of  age  his 
father  instructed  him  frankly  about  the  dangers  of 


66  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

masturbation,  with  the  result  that  he  struggled  hard 
against  the  habit  without,  however,  overcoming  it. 
A  few  years  later  his  father  spoke  to  him  about  the 
terrible  dangers  of  venereal  diseases,  warning  him 
against  prostitutes.  He  was  told  he  must  watch 
out,  for  he  would  have  frequently  occasion  to  go 
through  the  city,  and  the  prostitutes  are  always 
eager  to  seduce  such  innocent  young  boys  so  that 
many  a  one  is  ruined  for  life. 

It  is  significant  also  that  at  5  years  of  age  he 
played  with  a  girl  from  the  neighborhood,  trying  to 
imitate  the  father.  He  must  have  hurt  the  girl  for 
she  cried  out,  the  nurse  rushed  in,  a  serious  scene 
ensued,  and  he  was  severely  chastised  by  the  nurse. 

An  ugly  impression  was  produced  on  him  when 
he  witnessed  a  terrible  quarrel  between  their  cook 
and  the  nurse  who  were  jealous  of  each  other  on 
account  of  the  father's  attentions.  They  grabbed 
each  other  by  the  hair  and  the  whole  household  was 
in  an  uproar.  The  cook  had  to  leave  the  house  at 
once.  He  believes  that  after  that  incident  his  father 
gave  up  all  intimate  relations  with  the  women  in  the 
house.  At  19  years  of  age  he  fell  in  love  with  the 
cashier  of  a  coffee  house  and  would  have  very  much 
liked  to  possess  her.  But  his  father,  to  whom  he 
told  everything,  warned  him  against  all  cashier 
women  because  they  are  usually  diseased  and  in- 
fected. As  a  warning  he  told  him  that  in  his  youth 
he  once  suffered  very  unpleasant  consequences  as  the 


The  Father  Imago  67 

result  of  an  affair  with  that  kind  of  a  woman  and 
was  even  subjected  to  blackmail. 

He  filled  his  heart  with  a  gruesome  fear  of  wom- 
an. In  addition  to  that  he  placed  in  his  hands  a 
book  relating  all  about  the  evil  consequences  of 
sexual  diseases,  so  that  after  that  he  did  not  dare 
come  near  a  woman  without  the  protection  of  a 
condom.  After  intercourse,  which  consisted  merely 
of  digital  manipulations  in  his  case,  he  had  to 
bathe  at  once  and  to  wash  his  genitals  with  soap 
several  times.  After  homosexual  acts  he  did  not 
feel  the  compulsion  to  carry  out  these  ablutions. 

We  now  come  to  the  analysis  of  his  acts,  which 
show  themselves  veritable  compulsive  manifestations. 
Suddenly  he  becomes  restless,  energetically  tries  to 
control  himself,  then  paces  back  and  forth  for 
hours,  until  he  falls  into  the  hands  of  one  of  the 
male  prostitutes  who  easily  recognize  their  prospec- 
tive victims.  But  as  he  never  mentioned  any  name 
and  never  established  any  lasting  intimate  relations, 
he  escaped  blackmail.  Once  he  thought  that  a  cer- 
tain masseur  had  studied  his  physiognomy  and  had 
later  recognized  him.  He  saw  that  fellow  a  few 
times  in  front  of  his  home.  Immediately  he  left 
Vienna  and  undertook  an  extensive  journey  which 
kept  him  for  some  months  in  foreign  countries. 

In  the  act  he  tried  to  find  the  love  caresses  of  his 
father.  He  split  love  into  its  well  recognized  two 
components.  The  erotic  side  he  reserved  for  elderly 


68  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

men,  physicians,  and  the  faithful  elderly  friends, — 
while  for  sexuality  proper  he  turned  exclusively  to- 
wards men  of  low  rank.  Similarly  he  divided  his 
father's  personality  into  two  parts,  the  high- 
striving,  intellectual,  lofty-minded  father,  and  the 
woman  fancier,  the  lover  of  ordinary  servant  girls. 
He  was  still  playing  the  role  of  a  male  but  during 
the  act  he  regressed  back  to  childhood,  becoming 
again  a  child  who  longs  for  the  father's  tender  love 
squandered  on  servant  girls.  Moreover  the  ordi- 
nary males  also  had  the  traits  of  servants,  they 
were  of  the  servant  class. 

We  have  here  an  instance  of  the  transposition  of 
the  love  of  servant  girls  to  males.  He  had  always 
a  weakness  for  servant  girls  and  since  he  feared  he 
might  yet  get  tangled  up  in  marriage  with  a  cook,  he 
tried  to  keep  away  from  them.  Only  once  in  the 
home  of  a  friend  he  embraced  suddenly  a  cook  and 
passionately  kissed  her.  "I  could  have  without  a 
doubt  cohabited  with  her,"  he  told  me.  But  he  soon 
quit  visiting  that  particular  friend.  .  .  . 

He  identified  himself  completely  with  the  father. 
He  lived  in  his  own  house,  acted  like  the  father,  had 
the  same  kind  of  wardrobe,  although  his  father  had 
aged  a  great  deal.  But  in  one  respect  he  wanted 
to  be  different.  He  engaged  therefore  a  male  serv- 
ant and  always  took  his  meals  outside,  so  as  to  have 
no  cook  in  the  house.  But  that  servant  he  kept 
always  at  a  certain  distance.  He  did  not  care  to 


Jealousy  of  the  Father  69 

have  any  love  affairs  with  servants  in  the  house,  like 
his  father. 

The  analysis  disclosed  his  repressed  sadistic  atti- 
tude towards  woman.  His  first  attempts  at  inter- 
course with  women  failed  him  and  he  was  able 
to  carry  out  coitus  successfully  only  under  the  in- 
fluence of  alcohol.  Later  he  did  recall  a  single 
successful  coitus  without  that  aid.  The  girl  had 
roused  his  anger  with  the  remark  that  he  was  merely 
an  insolent  fellow.  He  jumped  at  her,  ready  to 
strike  her,  and  was  tremendously  excited.  In  that 
roused  state  he  carried  out  coitus.  But  Tie  would 
have  rather  strangled  her. 

He  showed  an  idiosyncrasy  against  certain  female 
occupations.  Nurses  in  their  garb  he  would  have 
gladly  torn  to  pieces.  He  also  hated  all  nuns.  It 
was  not  well  for  any  woman  to  rouse  his  anger. 
He  could  be  very  dangerous  when  roused.  He  con- 
fesses entertaining  as  his  favorite  phantasy  the 
thought  of  tearing  to  pieces  a  woman. 

The  reason  for  this  sadistic  attitude:  His  infan- 
tile jealousy  of  all  women  since  woman  had  robbed 
him  of  his  father's  love.  Among  them  was  also  a 
nurse  who  had  taken  care  of  the  father  during  a 
prolonged  illness. 

That  hatred  of  women  made  him  impotent  and 
drove  him  into  the  homosexual  path.  For  he  was 
afraid  of  himself  when  finding  himself  alone  in  the 
presence  of  a  woman.  He  rushed  away  from  houses 


70  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

of  prostitution  suddenly,  as  if  a  thousand  demons 
were  after  him. 

I  succeeded  in  convincing  him  that  this  sadistic 
attitude  was  a  rudiment  of  his  early  feelings,  that 
he  was  really  fighting  against  ghosts  which  he  had 
long  since  dispelled.  Now  it  was  up  to  him  to  avow 
consciously  his  criminal  tendencies  and  to  render 
them  innocuous  through  meeting  them  in  the  open. 
Presently  he  began  having  intercourse  with  puellce 
publicts,  before  the  analysis  was  ended,  and  even 
undertook  to  carry  out  coitus  lege  artis.  He  forced 
himself  to  do  it  because  he  no  longer  cared  to  incur 
the  risk  of  coming  into  conflict  with  the  law.  (The 
legal  case  against  him  was  squashed  because  there 
had  been  committed  no  overt  act  and  such  manipu- 
lations ordinarily  are  unpunished  in  Austria,  if  they 
cause  no  open  scandal.)  Later  he  chose  a  sweet- 
heart who  accompanied  him  on  his  travels  and  whom 
he  suddenly  abandoned.  He  had  meanwhile  met  a 
woman  who  captivated  him  mentally  and  spiritually. 
Two  years  later  I  received  their  engagement  card. 
In  this  case  the  analysis  accomplished  a  complete 
recovery. 

Here  we  found  a  complete  fixation  on  the  father, 
which  had  to  be  overcome  first  in  order  to  free  the 
path  to  woman  which  had  become  obstructed  by  all 
sorts  of  infantile  imperatives.  Neither  the  mother 
nor  the  persons  who  trained  him  during  his  earlier 


Fixation  on  the  Father  71 

years  play  any  role  in  the  psychogenesis  of  his 
homosexuality ;  on  the  other  hand  there  was  his 
strong  sadistic  attitude  towards  women  which 
showed  itself  in  a  personally  baffling  fear  of  women. 

This  case  shows  how  one-sided  Sadger's  explana- 
tion is  of  homosexuality,  when  he  traces  its  psycho- 
genesis  solely  to  the  relations  with  the  mother  and 
overlooks  entirely  the  role  of  the  father. 

We  must  also  bear  in  mind  that  many  children 
gravitate  to  the  mother  only  because  they  feel  them- 
selves neglected  by  the  father,  because  they  hate  the 
father,  and  are  unable  to  attain  a  proper  feeling- 
attitude  towards  him.  Precisely  that  overstressed 
love  of  the  mother  and  the  obvious  antagonism 
against  the  father  adroitly  covers  the  fixation  on 
the  father. 

I  will  now  report  three  similar  cases  from  my  own 
practice,  relating  only  the  important  details: 

64.  Mr.  S.  L.  has  not  worked  as  bank  employee 
for  the  past  three  years  or  more.  Three  years  ago 
he  began  to  complain  of  various  nervous  ailments 
and  was  granted  a  leave  of  absence  to  recover  his 
health.  That  leave  proved  his  undoing.  He  did  not 
improve ;  instead,  he  became  totally  unable  to  work 
and  is  now  no  longer  able  to  return  to  his  duties. 
His  father  always  maintained  that  the  whole  trouble 
was  imaginary,  and  wanted  to  hear  nothing  of  a 
prolongation  of  the  leave.  But  the  man's  suffering 


72  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

became  gradually  worse.  Out  of  spite  for  his 
father's  attitude  he  at  first  simulated  the  aggrava- 
tion of  his  trouble  and  his  condition  in  the  end 
actually  grew  so  much  worse  that  it  shattered  him 
to  pieces  and  he  lost  control  over  himself.  He 
experienced  attacks  of  dyspnea  so  severe  that  he 
could  not  talk.  The  dyspnea  occurred  in  par- 
oxysms. After  one  year  he  lost  his  position  with 
the  bank  and,  reduced  to  want,  he  appealed  to  his 
well-to-do  father  for  aid.  The  father  denied  him 
any  assistance  because  he  did  not  consider  the  son 
unable  to  work ;  he  thought  the  son  was  simulating 
so  as  to  impose  on  him.  S.  L.  sued  his  father  for 
sustenance  and  won,  aided  by  the  testimony  of  a 
number  of  physicians  who  certified  that  his  case  was 
one  of  severe  neurasthenia,  so  that  his  father  had  to 
give  him  a  monthly  allowance.  Father  and  son 
broke  all  personal  relations  so  that  the  payment  was 
made  through  an  attorney.  Thereafter  S.  L.  was 
inspired  by  no  other  thought  than  revenge  on  his 
father.  He  was  very  clever  in  thinking  out  new 
legal  issues  and  additional  suits  against  him.  Fin- 
ally he  came  to  the  conclusion  he  was  not  the  rightful 
son  of  his  father  and  threatened  a  law  suit  which 
only  his  love  for  his  mother  prevented  him  from 
actually  starting.  She  was  revolted  at  the  son's 
terrible  accusation  but  so  strongly  under  his  influ- 
ence that  she  did  not  have  the  will  power  to  break 
with  him.  She  met  him  clandestinely,  placing  money 


Hatred  of  the  Father  78 

into  his  hands.  He  loved  his  mother  above  all  else 
and  urged  her  to  leave  the  father.  He  put  detec- 
tives on  his  father's  trail,  hoping  to  be  able  to  fasten 
against  him  the  accusation  of  being  untrue  to  the 
mother.  He  always  spoke  of  his  father  as  "the  old 
rascal,"  "the  old  scamp,"  "that  miserable,  quarrel- 
some rake."  "Should  I  see  him  today  writhe  in 
agony  it  would  be  the  best  and  most  pleasant  day 
I  ever  had."  I  had  never  seen  before  so  bitter  a 
hatred  of  the  father. 

He  was  a  confirmed  homosexual,  hating  all  women 
with  the  exception  of  his  mother,  whom  he  held  in 
divine  veneration.  The  alleged  breach  of  faithful- 
ness which  he  alleged  her  to  have  committed  with  a 
person  of  high  position  (the  well-known  family 
romance  of  the  neurotic)  he  excused  as  natural  for 
it  would  have  been  a  miracle  for  that  noble  soul  to 
have  remained  true  to  so  terrible  a  man.  The  father 
compelled  her  to  coitus  with  brute  force.  He  was 
the  offspring  of  such  a  coercion,  etc.  .  .  .  He  loved 
only  younger  men,  even  boys,  and  he  was  fairly 
brutal  towards  them.  Occasionally  he  carried  on 
deeds  with  older  men  towards  whom  he  then  pre- 
served an  attitude  of  submissiveness  and  passivity, 
trying  to  please  them  in  every  way.  He  permitted 
pederasty  on  his  person  and  did  not  shrink  from 
fellatio. 

The  analysis  showed  a  passionate  love  of  the 
father,  a  feeling  which  on  account  of  its  unattainable 


74  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

aspect  turned  into  bitter  hatred.  He  thought  the 
father  was  partial  to  the  other  sons  and  fled  to  the 
mother  to  whom  he  often  complained  about  the 
father's  severity  and  lack  of  affection.  In  his  homo- 
sexual acts  he  played  actively  the  role  of  the  father, 
becoming  at  such  times  very  severe  and  almost  cruel, 
passively  he  carried  out  the  act  as  if  he  were  with 
the  father,  being  then  very  submissive,  and  thus 
allowing  his  whole  repressed  love  to  outflow  as  if 
bent  on  showing  him :  that  is  how  loving  I  would  be 
with  you  always  if  you  only  were  agreeable!  Cruel 
phantasies  revolving  around  revenge  upon  the  father 
as  the  central  theme  were  confessed  under  strong 
resistances.  Several  times  he  came  near  shooting 
his  father.  He  often  fancied  himself  in  situations  in 
which  his  father  depended  altogether  on  his  com- 
passion and  magnanimity.  For  instance,  he  would 
imagine  his  father  had  committed  some  great  fraud. 
He  himself  had  become  a  millionaire  through  an 
ingenious  invention  of  his  own.  His  father  comes 
begging  at  his  feet  and  is  refused  any  aid.  His 
favorite  reading  is  books  describing  cruel  punish- 
ments, the  inquisition  tortures,  etc.  The  well-known 
work  of  Octave  Mirbeau,  "Le  jardin  des  supplices" 
threw  him  into  ecstasy. 

The  other  roots  of  this  subject's  homosexuality 
I  do  not  dwell  upon  because  I  am  concerned  here 
only  with  the  role  of  the  father.  .  .  . 


Hatred  of  the  Father  75 

The  next  case  shows  a  very  similar  situation: 

65.  Mr.  G.  Z.  for  some  years  has  had  intimate 
relations  with  an  elderly  man,  an  artist,  whose 
studio  is  the  meeting  place  of  a  number  of  young 
men  exclusively.  He  is  not  a  musician  like  the 
others,  but  a  jurist,  and  had  met  incidentally  Mr.  X, 
his  fatherly  friend,  as  he  calls  the  man.  Before  that 
time  he  had  been  entirely  abstinent.  He  became 
Mr.  X's  friend  only  at  the  age  of  21.  The  friend- 
ship was  wholly  platonic  until  they  undertook  a 
journey  together.  At  Salzburg  they  occupied  to- 
gether the  same  room,  because  the  hotel  was  filled. 
They  carried  on  intercourse  {coitus  inter  femora), 
he  playing  the  female  role  on  that  occasion  as  well 
as  subsequently.  G.  Z/s  relations  with  his  father 
are  very  stressed.  They  hardly  speak  to  each  other. 
He  is  employed  in  his  father's  office,  but  has  only 
business  relations  with  him.  His  whole  spare  time 
he  devotes  to  his  mother.  One  day  he  surprised  his 
mother  with  the  information  that  he  had  had  his 
father  watched  and  found  out  that  the  father  main- 
tained clandestine  relations  with  a  number  of  women. 
He  requested  his  mother  to  break  with  the  father. 
He  raised  a  terrible  row  with  his  father,  ordering 
the  father  to  withdraw  from  the  office  and  leave  the 
business  entirely  to  him,  and  at  that  the  father 
showed  him  the  door.  A  letter  from  the  mother 
convinces  him  that  he  is  not  the  son  of  his  father; 


76  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

thereupon  he  locks  himself  in  the  room  and  commits 
suicide  by  shooting  himself. 

Jealousy  of  the  father  had  driven  him  to  suicide. 
During  the  acts  with  the  fatherly  friend  he  played 
the  role  of  the  son  replacing  the  women  in  the  life 
of  the  father. 

66.  Mr.  T.  B.,  32  years  of  age,  like  Case  64,  is 
also  unable  to  work.  He  has  tried  everything  but 
cannot  make  anything  go.  His  father  is  a  common 
employee  reduced  to  seek  occasionally  the  son's 
financial  aid.  But  the  young  man  now  stays  at 
home  and  complains  of  attacks  which  he  describes 
as  of  an  epileptic  nature,  occurring  only  at  night, 
but  which  prove  to  be  hysterical  anxiety  attacks. 
His  brother  is  diligent  and  hard-working,  the 
favorite  of  the  family.  When  the  brother  is  praised 
he  turns  so  wild  that  he  is  boiling  with  rage.  He 
speaks  but  little  with  the  brother,  exchanging  with 
him  only  necessary  words.  Regarding  his  father  he 
declares  that  living  together  with  him  he  finds  most 
painful.  He  has  delicate  tastes.  But  his  father's 
manner  of  eating  and  talking  rouses  his  anger.  He 
will  bless  the  day  when  he  shall  once  more  be  working 
and  in  a  position  to  leave  the  parental  home.  The 
mother  was  on  his  side,  believed  in  his  illness  and  in 
the  genuineness  of  his  attacks,  and  comes  at  night 
during  his  attacks  to  his  bed,  trying  to  help  him 
and  to  quiet  him  to  the  best  of  her  powers.  The 


Hatred  of  the  Father  77 

mother  alone  knows  that  he  is  homosexual  and  she 
does  not  disturb  him  in  the  least  on  that  score. 
But  she  turns  jealous  as  soon  as  she  sees  him  pay 
any  attention  to  a  girl,  and  every  night,  too,  she 
comes  to  the  kitchen  to  make  sure  that  her  sons  are 
not  taking  advantage  of  the  servant  girls.  She 
accompanies  the  ailing  son  on  his  errands  and  is  his 
confidante.  She  does  not  get  along  at  all  well  with 
her  husband  and  they  have  ceased  marital  relations 
long  ago.  There  are  thus  two  parties  in  the  house, 
he  with  his  mother,  and  the  father  with  the  other  son. 
Moreover,  the  ailing  son  raises  various  issues  so 
that  there  are  daily  quarrels  and  conflicts  in  the 
house.  The  father  published  a  statement  in  the 
newspaper  to  the  effect  that  he  will  no  longer  be 
responsible  for  debts  and  obligations  contracted  by 
the  son.  Thereupon  the  mother,  who  earns  an  inde- 
pendent income  with  her  piano  lessons,  left  the  house 
together  with  her  favorite  son.  They  rented  another 
home  for  themselves  and  the  mother  hopes  that  the 
separation  and  the  quiet  care  will  bring  about  her 
son's  complete  recovery.  At  this  stage  T.  B.  is 
brought  to  me  for  analysis.  Two  days  later  I  am 
called  to  the  father.  T.  B.  had  gone  there  under  an 
excuse  and  while  searching  among  the  books  he  was 
seized  with  a  very  severe  attack  and  had  to  be  put 
to  bed.  He  was  now  so  ill  that  he  could  not  leave 
the  bed.  It  was  the  love  of  the  father  that  had 
driven  him  to  the  place.  He  could  not  live  without 


78  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

seeing  his  father  and  could  not  endure  the  thought 
of  leaving  the  father  alone  with  the  brother.  The 
mother  moved  back  to  the  old  home.  As  prerequi- 
sites for  my  analysis  I  suggested  isolation  of  the 
subject  and  moderate  occupation,  and  the  mother 
apparently  agreed.  Next  day  the  patient  wrote  me 
that  on  account  of  his  attacks  he  would  be  unable  to 
live  among  strangers,  and  that  therefore  he  must 
give  up  the  treatment.  An  experience  similar  to 
that  I  had  with  the  epileptic,  Case  No.  51. 

The  specific  phantasy  during  his  indulgences  in 
which  he  played  always  a  passive  role,  represented 
him  as  the  mother  who  gives  herself  up  to  the  father. 
The  following  dream  yielded  some  light  on  the 
matter : 

"/  lie  on  the  bed  in  a  remarkable  attire,  a  hood  on 
my  head  and  dressed  in  a  green  robe.  I  gaze  in  a 
looking-glass  and  instead  of  my  person  I  see  my 
mother,  and  father  in  the  act  of  bending  over  her 
to  give  her  a  kiss.  Now  the  image  in  the  looking- 
glass  fuses  with  the  original,  the  two  coming  to- 
gether and  forming  a  single  picture.  I  feel  myself 
turning  into  a  woman  and  everything  male  about  me 
falls  off  or  disappears.  I  have  long  black  hair,  a 
white  skin  and  a  high  voice.  My  arms  stretch  out 
to  embrace  a  man  and  I  awake  with  a  feeling  of 
anxiety  and  a  rapid  heart  beat." 


The  Mother  Imago  79 

An  analysis  of  this  dream  is  superfluous.  The 
subject  was  unwilling  to  see  its  meaning. 

But  the  fixation  upon  the  mother  is  often  also 
marked  with  hatred.  It  must  not  be  thought 
that  the  homosexual  is  always  disposed  pleasantly 
towards  the  mother.  It  also  happens  that  the  love 
for  the  mother  is  covered  under  an  overt  hatred  and 
an  unnatural  disgust,  as  is  shown  by  the  following 
case: 

67.  H.  U.,  24-year-old  sculptor,  homosexual  as 
long  as  he  can  remember.  His  inclination  is  always 
towards  waiters  and  restaurant  employees.  Has 
four  sisters  and  an  older  brother  who  had  to  go  to 
America  and  is  lost  to  them.  His  father  is  a  writer, 
a  genial  but  impractical  man  who  stuck  to  jour- 
nalism. He  clings  to  his  father  with  every  fiber  of 
his  heart,  protecting  him  against  the  attacks  of  the 
mother  who  is  tired  of  her  husband's  continual  love 
affairs  and  cannot  stand  them  any  longer.  The 
father  lives  in  a  dreamy  state  continuously,  passing 
from  one  ecstasy,  lasting  from  several  days  to  a 
week,  into  another.  He  is  not  finicky  in  his  love 
adventures,  drawing  the  line  neither  at  servant  girls 
nor  at  prostitutes ;  daily  he  has  some  new  rendezvous 
and  in  that  way  squanders  a  great  portion  of  his 
income.  There  are  always  quarrels  in  the  house, 
and  the  father  does  not  like  to  stay  at  home,  pre- 
ferring to  spend  his  evenings  in  the  public  houses. 


80  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

The  relations  between  mother  and  son  are  as  un- 
pleasant as  between  the  parents.  The  son  always 
lets  his  mother  know  that  she  is  repulsive  to  him. 
If  she  attempts  to  come  near  him  in  the  room  he 
avoids  her,  shouting:  "Don't  touch  me,  mir  graust 
vor  dir, — you  give  me  the  shivers!"  He  never  per- 
mits her  to  fondle  him,  and  has  no  good  word  for 
the  poor  tortured  woman.  Towards  his  sister  he  is 
also  always  sarcastic,  aloof,  and  likes  to  meet  her 
admirers  to  make  uncomplimentary  remarks  about 
her  to  them.  The  situation  became  seriously  aggra- 
vated, he  had  to  leave  the  house,  and  now  wants  to 
meet  no  one  of  the  family  except  the  father,  whom 
he  sees  daily  at  the  newspaper  office.  He  hates 
fanatically  all  women  and  dotes  on  Strindberg  and 
Weininger. 

Back  of  this  hatred  of  women  stands  his  great 
love  for  the  mother,  the  sisters,  and  all  women.  In 
that  respect  he  is  exactly  like  his  father,  whose  fate 
he  does  not  want  to  share.  He  protects  himself 
against  the  love  for  his  mother  because  he  would  be 
lost  and  subordinate  to  women  if  he  yielded.  The 
gruesome  quarrels  which  he  witnessed  during  his 
childhood  showed  him  a  father  who  ruined  himself 
on  account  of  women,  a  man  unable  to  achieve  the 
full  expression  of  his  high  ideal  because  he  squan- 
dered his  energies  on  numerous  love  adventures. 
Homosexuality  serves  him  as  a  protection  against 
all  womanhood.  His  attachment  to  waiters  is  ex- 


Fixation  on  the  Sister  81 

plained  through  the  fact  that  his  mother  had  been 
a  waitress  whom  his  father  had  married  after  she 
had  become  pregnant  by  him  so  as  to  legitimatize 
the  child.  After  two  weeks  he  breaks  up  the  analysis 
because  he  feels  that  his  attitude  towards  women  is 
.  being  changed.  In  that  attitude  lies  his  security. 
Among  waiters  he  prefers  small  young  boys  who 
remind  him  of  his  sister. 

This  fixation  upon  the  sister  is  not  so  rare,  as  is 
shown  by  the  next  case,  which  dates  back  to  my 
earlier  psychoanalytic  experience. 

68.  Mr.  P.  G.,  teacher  in  a  high  school  (Real- 
schule  professor),  consults  me  on  account  of  an 
ailment  which  began  a  few  weeks  ago  and  which 
threatens  to  destroy  all  his  joy  of  living.  He  is  26 
years  of  age  and  has  had  no  sexual  intercourse. 
In  fact,  he  has  not  had  even  one  genuine  love  affair. 
A  few  months  ago  he  met  a  girl  whom  he  liked  very 
much  and  they  became  engaged.  They  were  to  be 
married  in  six  months.  She  is  a  friend  of  his  sister's, 
a  girl  to  whom  he  had  not  previously  paid  any  par- 
ticular attention  but  during  an  outing  he  got  to 
know  her  and  to  appreciate  her  so  well  that  he  fell 
suddenly  in  love  with  her.  It  was  not  a  great  con- 
suming passion, — rather  a  mutual  understanding 
and  a  strong  spiritual  kinship.  He  was  abstinent 
through  conviction.  He  wanted  to  enter  the  mar- 


82  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

riage  bond  a  pure  man  and  was  proud  that  in  that 
respect  he  was  unlike  his  friends  and  colleagues. 
Then  something  happened  in  his  life  which  threat- 
ened to  break  him  to  pieces  and  even  drove  him  to 
thoughts  of  suicide.  I  relate  the  occurrence  in  his 
own  words: 

"In  my  class  there  is  a  very  beautiful,  physically 
imposing,  slim,  bright  young  fellow  whom  I  liked  on 
account  of  his  excellent  answers  and  fine  manners. 
I  directed  my  questions  at  him  with  great  pleasure, 
whenever  the  other  boys  could  not  answer,  knowing 
that  I  would  always  receive  from  him  the  correct 
answer,  and  I  have  often  held  this  favorite  scholar 
of  mine  up  to  the  others  as  an  example  of  how  they 
ought  to  be.  One  night  I  dreamed  that  the  boy  was 
lying  in  my  bed  and  that  I  embraced  and  kissed  him. 
I  woke  up,  scared,  and  presently  quieted  down. 
'Nonsense,'  I  said  to  myself.  'Anything  may  come 
up  in  a  dream !'  At  school  that  day  I  found  myself 
somewhat  uneasy  towards  that  boy  because  I  could 
not  help  thinking  about  my  dream.  I  avoided 
putting  any  questions  to  him.  As  was  frequently 
his  habit,  the  boy  waited  for  me  after  school  hours 
and  asked  permission  to  accompany  me  on  the  way. 
We  had  to  go  the  same  road  and  I  was  pleased  to 
pass  the  time  talking  with  him.  He  entertained  me. 
I  heard  a  great  deal  about  what  the  pupils  were 
saying  about  the  teachers  and  it  seemed  to  me  very 
interesting.  Teaching  means  building  up  souls,  and 


Pupil-Sister  Imago  83 

so  I  wanted  to  implant  every  noble  and  high  ideal 
in  the  soul  of  this  child. 

"I  granted  him  also  that  day,  gladly,  permission 
to  come  along.  I  was  strikingly  distracted  and 
silent.  Whereas  formerly  I  had  been  in  the  habit 
•of  taking  him  by  the  arm  now  and  then,  this  time 
I  avoided  all  intimate  contact,  because  the  dream 
stood  between  me  and  the  handsome  young  boy, 
rendering  any  intimacy  or  informality  impossible. 
I  reached  home  and  very  promptly  went  to  my  bride. 
She  found  me  absent-minded,  wanted  to  know  the 
reason, — and  about  that,  naturally,  I  could  but  be 
silent.  I  wanted  to  show  her  tenderness  ;  she  goaded 
me  with  her  kisses  and  caresses.  But,  oh,  horrors ! 
In  the  midst  of  her  kisses  my  mind  turned  to  the 
young  fellow  and  when  I  felt  her  lips,  so  warm,  I 
thought  it  was  the  boy's  lips.  I  pushed  her,  scared, 
out  of  my  arms,  pretending  I  did  not  feel  well,  and 
hurried  back  home. 

"I  was  so  excited  that  for  a  long  time  I  could  not 
fall  asleep.  I  decided  I  would  fight  the  insane  pas- 
sion. I  had  heard  before  passingly  about  boy  love, 
knew  also  that  it  was  the  custom  and  fashion  of  the 
day  in  ancient  Greece,  but  I  myself  had  never  before 
entertained  the  least  thought  of  a  man  or  boy.  I 
felt  I  ought  to  remain  a  teacher  no  longer  if  I  failed 
to  conquer  the  feeling  and  to  master  the  impression 
of  the  dream  picture  on  my  mind,  conjured  up, 
undoubtedly,  by  unconscious  wishes.  I  resolved  to 


84  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

be  strict  with  myself,  to  give  up  the  attachment  to 
the  boy,  and  to  avoid  his  company  after  school 
hours.  For  it  was  I  who  first  spoke  up  and  invited 
him  to  keep  me  company  on  the  way  home.  I  re- 
solved to  be  strong  and  to  devote  once  more  all  my 
affection  and  my  love  to  my  bride. 

"Next  school  day  I  forced  myself  not  to  turn  my 
gaze  towards  the  boy's  seat.  But  I  could  not  help 
looking  that  way  and  the  first  glance  rushed  the 
blood  to  my  cheeks.  He  was  as  beautiful  as  a  Greek 
boy,  his  form  so  delicate,  his  eyes  so  smiling, — I 
could  have  lost  myself  for  hours  in  the  contemplation 
of  that  wonderful  face.  I  roused  from  my  day 
dreaming,  which,  fortunately,  had  passed  unnoticed 
by  the  class.  But  I  wanted  to  neutralize  the  im- 
pression that  my  gazing  at  the  boy  may  have  made 
upon  the  class  and  called  upon  the  boy.  I  was 
severe,  unmercifully  severe  with  him,  and  sought  to 
catch  him  in  some  error.  And  who  fails  to  find  an 
error  when  looking  hard  for  it?  Then  I  repri- 
manded the  boy  so  severely  that  he  began  to  cry  and 
returned  to  his  seat  weeping,  and  he  was  unable  to 
quiet  down  for  some  time  after  that.  Then  I  became 
really  angry.  I  was  trying  to  stifle  the  inner  voice 
which  was  whispering:  'It  is  unfair  for  you  to  tor- 
ture thus  the  innocent  boy ;  he  is  not  responsible  for 
your  awful  thoughts.  .  .  .'  I  disregarded  that  and 
scolded  him. 

"On  the  street  the  boy  did  not  dare  to  offer  to 


Pupil-Sister  Imago  85 

join  me.  I  hurried  past  him  and  wandered  for 
hours  on  the  streets  like  a  madman.  I  reproached 
myself,  regretting  the  lost  opportunity  for  enjoying 
the  boy's  company  and  wept  over  the  breaking  up 
of  the  beautiful  friendship  between  scholar  and 
'  teacher.  I  resolved  to  be  fair  the  next  day  with  the 
boy  and  to  pay  no  attention  to  him.  But  a  wild 
demoniac  power,  stronger  than  my  good  resolutions, 
impelled  me  once  more  to  hurt  the  boy's  feelings  and 
to  humiliate  him  before  the  class.  It  looked  as  if  I 
was  bent  on  revenging  myself  on  him  for  the  trouble 
he  had  cost  me.  I  knew  that  I  punished  myself 
doing  so,  that  I  suffered  far  more  than  the  boy, 
although  he,  too,  changed  in  appearance,  became 
timid,  looked  badly  and  obviously  suffered  under  the 
unjust  treatment.  I  also  became  irritable,  morose, 
nervous.  I  lost  completely  my  nervous  equilibrium. 
I  began  to  avoid  my  bride's  company.  It  seemed 
to  me  a  profanation  on  my  part  of  her  pure  love  so 
long  as  I  was  consumed  with  such  passion  for  a 
boy.  She  also  became  cooler  and  more  reserved, 
because  she  could  not  understand  me. 

"Eventually  things  improved  at  school.  I  learned 
to  control  myself  and  to  act  more  fairly.  We  re- 
sumed the  walks  once  more ;  the  boy  accompanied  me 
again  after  school  hours;  sometimes  we  walked  on 
and  on  for  hours,  and  we  even  met  specially  during 
the  holidays.  In  his  company  I  felt  happy  and  all 
my  wishes  seemed  gratified.  I  enjoyed  his  beauty 


86  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

and  his  lively  mind  and  counted  the  minutes  to  pass 
when  we  should  meet  again. 

"Then  something  happened  which  opened  my  eyes. 
My  bride  wrote  me  a  letter  breaking  up  our  engage- 
ment. It  did  not  even  affect  me  as  deeply  as  I  had 
thought  it  would,  whenever  reflecting  previously  on 
the  possibility.  Very  well — I  thought  to  myself — 
now  you  can  devote  yourself  entirely  to  your  beloved 
boy!  At  the  same  time  I  felt  during  the  day  the 
same  physical  excitation  which  I  had  theretofore 
experienced  only  in  my  dreams.  Then  I  realized 
that  I  must  avoid  the  boy  if  I  was  to  keep  from 
committing  a  crime.  My  first  task,  I  thought, 
would  be  to  make  up  again  with  the  bride ;  secondly, 
I  must  give  up  the  school  so  as  to  not  meet  the  boy 
again.  My  bride  was  resolute,  however,  insisting 
that  she  had  become  convinced  that  I  did  not  love 
her.  I  kept  secrets  from  her.  I  was  on  the  very 
point  of  confessing  everything  and  of  telling  her  the 
whole  truth.  I  threw  myself,  weeping,  to  her  feet. 
She  said  quietly:  'Don't!  What  is  done  cannot  be 
undone.  It  is  better  that  we  should  part.  Don't 
make  the  parting  hard  for  me.  Let's  leave  one 
another  good  friends  and  think  kindly  of  me.'  Then 
she  hurried  out  of  the  room  and  left  me  to  myself. 

"Next  day  when  I  went  to  the  school  the  boy  was 
not  there ;  he  was  ill.  Another  boy  reported  he  was 
kept  at  home  on  account  of  scarlet  fever.  My 
anxiety  about  him  was  boundless.  I  could  think  of 


The  Sister  Imago  87 

nothing  but  that  boy.  A  schoolmate  had  to  bring 
me  daily  reports  about  his  condition.  Often  I 
wandered  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home,  up  and 
down  the  streets,  and  at  night  I  watched  the  lamp- 
lit  window  of  the  room  where  a  sister  was  taking  care 
of  him.  Finally  I  heard  that  he  was  convalescing, 
that  all  danger  was  over,  and  that  he  would  return 
to  school  in  a  few  weeks.  I  had  to  keep  a  strong 
grip  on  myself  at  school  to  be  able  to  carry  on  my 
lectures  at  all.  My  thoughts  were  perpetually 
centered  on  my  beloved  boy  pupil.  Continually  I 
kept  thinking:  How  many  days  longer  must  I  keep 
longing?  In  three  weeks  he  will  be  here!  My  heart 
danced  with  joy  at  the  thought.  .  .  . 

"There  had  to  be  a  change.  I  could  not  keep  on 
living  that  way.  I  took  my  father  into  confidence 
and  he  sent  me  to  you,  thinking  that  you  would  be 
able  to  furnish  good  advice  and  aid  in  this  difficult 
case.'* 

I  offered  at  first  no  advice  and  no  help.  To  begin 
with,  I  allowed  the  love-sick  fellow  to  speak  out 
everything  that  was  on  his  mind  and  that  in  itself 
lightened  his  burden.  Then  I  undertook  to  obtain 
an  insight  into  his  mental  life  before  the  advent  of 
his  boy  love. 

It  turned  out  that  he  had  really  loved  and  still 
loves  but  one  person  in  the  wide  world:  his  sister. 
The  affection  for  the  bride  was  but  a  substitute  for 


88  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

his  love  of  the  sister.  His  bride  was  also  homo- 
sexual and  loved  in  him  but  the  brother  of  her  best 
girl  friend.  As  the  girl  friend  (his  sister)  cooled 
off  during  their  engagement,  preferring  another 
friendship  (obviously  led  thereto  by  unconscious 
jealousy  of  the  brother),  her  own  affection  for  the 
young  man  cooled  off  and  she  promptly  made  use 
of  the  opportunity  to  break  off  with  him.  The 
opportunity  arose  conveniently  enough  and  the 
severing  of  the  engagement  reacted  most  painfully 
upon  the  school  teacher  who  had  reasons  of  his  own 
for  reproaching  himself  most  bitterly. 

The  more  his  bride  kept  away  from  his  sister  the 
greater  was  his  indifference  to  the  bride.  But  the 
boy  resembled  his  sister  very  closely. 

He  never  thought  of  this  similarity  before.  They 
had  the  same  eyes,  the  same  color  of  hair,  and  the 
same  voice,  and  these  played  a  strong  role  with  him. 
During  that  critical  period  his  sister  was  interested 
in  a  certain  physician.  He  felt  he  was  about  to  lose 
her  affection  and  sought  a  substitute  for  her  and 
that  he  found  in  his  pupil.  .  .  . 

Now  he  was  in  a  position  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  his  sister.  She  had  the  requisite 
psychologic  insight  to  understand  him  fully  and  to 
lend  him  intelligent  assistance  towards  his  recovery. 

His  whole  tremendous  excitation  simmered  down. 
The  love  for  the  boy  calmed  down  to  an  attitude  of 
kindly  interest  which  no  longer  troubled  him.  He 


The  Sister  Imago  89 

took  his  walks  only  with  his  sister  who  often  called 
for  him  at  the  school.  Months  later  I  heard  that 
he  was  very  quiet  and  had  no  reason  to  complain. 
He  succeeded  in  sublimating  his  affection  for  the 
sister  into  joint  intellectual  interests,  insofar  as 
that  is  possible.  But  frank  relations  create  a 
healthy  atmosphere  in  which  it  is  easier  to  overcome 
incestuous  phantasies  than  in  the  byways  and  hidden 
bypaths  of  repression  and  transference. 

I  have  given  a  detailed  account  of  this  case  be- 
cause it  is  typical  and  because  the  transference  of 
affection  from  the  sister  to  a  boy  is  more  common 
than  would  be  recognized  a  priori  in  the  light  of  our 
current  contributions  on  homosexuality.  We  must 
also  bear  in  mind  that  the  sister  represents  a 
younger  likeness  of  the  mother  Imago.1 

1  Ibsen,  the  great  psychologist,  has  described  in  masterly 
fashion  the  transposition  of  sister  love  into  boy  love.  In 
"Little  Eyolf,"  Aimers,  the  writer,  suddenly  loses  the  love  for 
his  wife  and  turns  his  affection  exclusively  to  his  child.  That 
child  is  called  'little  Eyolf,'  like  his  sister,  who  had  once  put 
on  boy's  clothes  and  called  herself  'little  Eyolf.'  The  parents 
had  expected  a  boy.  Aimers  turns  his  affection  for  the  sister, 
which  pervades  the  whole  drama,  into  the  love  for  the  boy.  He 
has  discovered  for  himself  the  law  of  substitution  which  cor- 
responds to  the  changes  spoken  of  in  these  pages.  Little 
Eyolf  in  fact  is  the  dramatization  of  the  latent  homosexual 
fixation  on  the  sister.  Aimers  cannot  split  his  personality,  he 
cannot  be  both  homo-  and  heterosexual.  This  inability  to 
split  his  self,  the  root  of  all  homosexuality,  forms  the  back- 
ground of  the  whole  drama.  Rita  cannot  divide  her  person- 
ality any  more  than  Aimers  can  do  it;  he  must  give  his  whole 
personality  self.  Aimers  cannot  divide  wife  and  sister.  He 
embraces  his  wife  and  thinks  of  the  sister  (That  sister,  whom 


90  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

But  father,  mother  and  sister  do  not  exhaust  the 
ideal  of  the  homosexual.  I  also  know  cases — one  I 
have  described  in  a  previous  chapter — in  which  the 
love  of  an  older  brother  plays  a  tremendous  role.2 

he  calls  his  little  and  his  big  Eyolf.  The  sister  in  trousers, 
who  embodied  his  ideal,  a  woman  in  male  clothes,  a  bisexual 
being  which  need  not  be  split  up  at  all).  "Love  of  brothers 
and  sisters  is  the  only  relationship  not  subject  to  the  law  of 
transformation."  Rank  {Das  Inzestmotiv  in  Dichtung  und 
Sage,  1912,  p.  654)  and  Pfister  (Anwendung  der  Psycho- 
analyse in  der  Padagogik  und  Seelsorge,  p.  72)  find  the  incest 
motive  easily  but  overlook  the  fact  that  the  situation  involves 
the  outbreak  of  homosexuality  and  its  psychogenesis.  It  rep- 
resents a  flight  from  the  sister  to  man,  a  wavering  homo- 
sexuality sublimated  into  love  for  the  boy.  The  drama  con- 
tains numerous  other  familiar  points  well  worth  careful  analy- 
sis. For  Aimers,  his  wife,  and  his  child,  are  the  representa- 
tives of  the  male,  female,  and  infantile  components  which  we 
endeavor  to  synthetize  in  our  character  {trinity).  Regression 
to  the  infantile  level  sets  in  with  flight  from  the  world  (flight 
to  the  solitude  of  the  mountain  top).  The  solitary  Ibsen,  as 
road  builder,  undertakes  to  construct  a  new  highway  which 
shall  lead  up  to  solitary  heights  and  does  not  observe  that  the 
road  leads  really  straight  back  to  the  realm  of  his  youth.  Some- 
where in  the  vast  expanse  of  his  soul  the  'dead  child'  is  floating 
around  and  staring  with  wide  open  eyes  into  infinity.  A 
child  is  killed  in  this  drama.  It  stands  for  the  miscarried 
regression  back  to  infantilism.  Childhood  is  finally  subdued 
and  forgetfulness  once  more  drowns  in  the  soul's  vast  expanse 
all  gnawing  and  biting  reproaches.  The  memories  are  all 
dead  .  .  .  and  the  next  drama  has  for  its  theme:  When  the 
dead  awaken.  But  in  little  Byolf  they  are  already  awake.  .  .  . 
The  dead,  whom  Ibsen  carried  in  his  breast,  the  corpse  to 
which  Rita  refers  so  often.  .  .  .  The  child  in  him  is  dead  and 
now  the  man  in  him  also  threatens  to  die.  It  recalls  the  admis- 
sion of  impotence,  described  with  such  tremendous  realism  in 
the  great  Rita-Aimers  scene.  The  man  in  him  dies  and  the 
woman  in  him  persists  with  yearnings.  A  more  detailed  treat- 
ment of  these  endopsychic  processes  will  be  found  in  my  book 
on  Masochism  (Translation  by  Van  Teslaar,  in  preparation). 
J  The  following  passage,  from  an  observation  by  Hirsch- 
feld,  shows  how  early  such  fixation  on  the  brother  may  take 
place,  only  to  disappear,  apparently,  and  to  be  mistaken  for 
inborn  homosexuality:  "I  hated  boys  and  boyish  games;  my 


Flight  from  Incest  91 

We  are  thus  led  to  the  conclusion  that  fixation  on 
the  family  plays  a  determinative  role  in  the  genesis 
of  homosexuality,  that  homosexuality  often  may 
represent  a  flight  from  incest.  True,  we  have  also 
seen  cases  in  which  these  roots  are  not  traceable, 
particularly  cases  of  late  homosexuality.  But  why 
may  not  other  psychic  forces,  manifesting  themselves 
as  hatred,  disgust,  fear  and  shame,  likewise  lead  to 
homosexuality? 

Love  of  the  family  is  a  form  of  narcissism.  Every 
member  of  the  family  is  a  mirrored  image  of  one's 
own  personality.  One  may  love  one's  self  in  one's 
parents  or  other  members  of  the  intimate  family 
circle  more  readily  than  through  strangers.  Leo 
Berg  was  the  first  to  express  this  truth  and  he  has 
done  it  very  clearly.  In  his  inspiring  work,  Ge- 

sister  was  my  alter  ego,  while  my  brother,  who  was  13  years 
older  and  a  very  beautiful  man,  had  powerfully  charmed  my 
childish,  pure  and  innocent  heart.  I  worshipped  him  for  his 
physical  beauty  even  more  than  on  account  of  his  sterling 
qualities.  At  the  same  time  I  grew  continuously  more  sensi- 
tive in  my  overt  attitude  towards  him.  I  remember  clearly 
that  during  the  6th  or.  7th  year  my  brother's  physical  beauty 
caused  me  to  shake  before  him  with  every  fiber  of  my  body 
in  admiration  as  before  some  mystery  revealed.  At  10  years 
of  age  I  wept  through  a  whole  night  intoxicated  with  joy 
because  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  lie  down  near  his  intoxicatingly 
sweet  presence  for  rest.  I  had  a  feeling  of  shame  such  as  I 
did  not  experience  in  the  presence  of  my  mother  or  sister. 
Clearly  and  deliberately,  although  unbeknown,  of  course,  to 
him,  I  deified  my  brother  'from  the  10th  to  the  15th  year,  and 
this  worshipful  attitude  reached  its  highest  from  my  10th  to 
the  12th  year,  when  he  married.  I  was  disconsolately  unhappy 
over  it  because  that  event  removed  him  from  our  midst  and 
I  felt  it  was  dreadful  that  he  should  lose  his  virgin  beauty, 
as  I  thought."  (Hirtchfield,  loc.  tit.,  p.  46.) 


92  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

schlechtgr  (Kulturprobleme  der  Gegenwart,  2nd  ser., 
Vol.  II,  Berlin,  1906),  he  states: 

"What  does  the  homosexual  substitute  for  pro- 
creation? In  the  first  place  self-seeking,  the  love 
of  like  (die  Liebe  zum  Gleichen),  plays  a  greater  role 
in  his  case  than  with  the  heterosexual  who  is  respon- 
sive to  the  unlike,  and  that  is  why  the  instinct  of 
procreation  is  as  a  rule  very  much  weaker  in  the 
former  though  not  entirely  absent.  A  young  physi- 
cian who  confessed  to  me  that  he  was  homosexual, 
told  me  of  a  colleague  who  was  passionately  attached 
to  a  child.  It  was  a  powerful  motherly  instinct  in 
him,  a  sign  of  his  female  sensitiveness  in  a  male 
body ;  he  is  wholly  womanly,  a  submissive  being,  and 
loves  like  a  woman  cursed  only  because  he  cannot 
bear  a  child  for  the  man  of  his  heart." 

Berg  also  points  out  that  the  homosexuals  trans- 
fer to  the  intellectual  sphere  their  reproductive  and 
creative  urge. 

The  case  mentioned  by  Berg  shows  nothing  in 
itself  more  than  a  complete  identification  with  the 
mother.  But  I  have  observed  long  ago  that  this 
love  of  the  like  bears  some  relations  to  purposive 
sterility.  The  homosexual  renounces  the  immor- 
tality implied  in  procreation.  (Many  homosexual 
artists  achieve  immortality  in  the  realm  of 
spiritual  endeavor.)  Such  an  attitude  discloses 
a  revolt  against  natural  law  and  order.  The  homo- 


Flight  from  Sexual  Determinism  93 

sexual,  in  fact,  always  conceives  himself  as  unique. 
The  world  contains  not  his  equal  and  that  feeling 
is  the  hidden  source  of  his  pride.  The  "bearing  of 
aloofness,*'  already  pointed  out  by  Freimark,3  the 
pride  of  being  "different,"  determine  also  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  procreative  instinct.  He  does  not  care 
to  be  like  others.  Against  the  notion  that  God  had 
ordained  man  to  have  offspring  he  wants  to  oppose 
all  teleology  and,  in  spite  of  God,  maintain  a  pur- 
poseless, meaningless  love,  contrary  to  nature,  a 
love  for  its  own  sake.  Conceivably  women  manifest 
even  more  clearly  the  corresponding  revulsion 
against  the  motherly  instinct. 

Who  will  deny  that  fear  of  children,  of  mother- 
hood, is  an  important  social  manifestation?  Can  it 
be  that  this  fear  is  characteristic  only  of  women  and 
is  not  shared  also  by  men?  May  it  not  manifest 
itself  as  a  form  of  flight  from  sexual  determinism? 
We  need  only  look  around  us.  There  are  any  num- 
ber of  married  couples  who  want  no  children  and 
others  who  want  no  more  than  a  child  or  two. 
Undoubtedly  this  state  of  things  is  partly  due  to 
homosexuality,  to  a  deviation  from  the  biblical  in- 
junction concerning  the  duty  of  increasing  offspring. 
But  let  us  also  glance  over  our  professional  ex- 
perience. The  relationship  between  children  and 
their  parents  carries  within  itself  the  beginnings  of 

•  Zuchtbarkeit     der     Homosexiialitat.       Sexualprobleme,     6 
Jahrg.,  1910,  No.   12. 


94  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

a  new  phase.  The  everlasting  conflict  between  the 
new  and  the  old  generation,  between  fathers  and 
sons,  mothers  and  daughters,  children  and  parents, 
requires,  fosters  new  forms.  Not  without  reason 
has  our  age  been  called  "the  century  of  the  child" 
with  its  slogan  raised  about  the  Rights  of  Children. 
The  greater  the  (unconsciously  motivated)  antag- 
onism of  the  child  against  his  parents,  the  stronger 
will  be  the  fear  of  its  own  children,  who  loom  up  as 
potential  enemies  and  rivals.4  It  seems  that  our 
own  image  attracts  and  repels  us  at  the  same  time, 
that  there  is  a  fear  of  the  like  as  strong  as  the  fear 
of  the  unlike.  The  aboriginal  conflict  between  the 
old  and  the  new  goes  on  forever  within  us.  Hungry 
for  the  new  though  we  be,  yet  we  cling  to  the  old. 
Having  acquired  the  new  we  turn  longingly  to  the 
old. 

This  bipolarity  shows  itself  nowhere  so  distinctly 
as  upon  the  sexual  sphere.  It  means  that  contraries 
have  the  power  of  sexual  attraction.  That  is  an 
observation  substantiated  by  everyday  experience. 
But  there  is  an  extreme  point  at  which  the  opposite 
touches  upon  the  like.  Les  extremes  se  touchent, 
extremes  meet.  In  each  of  us  there  lives  also  an- 
other who  is  the  precise  counterpart  of  ourselves. 
In  the  other  sex  we  love  our  counterpart  and  through 

4  This  thought  is  very  wonderfully  expressed  in  Gerhart 
Hauptmarm's  Oriseldis.  The  father  is  jealous  of  the  son 
because  he,  in  turn,  had  been  his  father's  enemy  and  rival.  .  .  . 


Sexual  Bipolarity  95 

the  love  for  our  own  sex  we  endeavor  to  run  away 
from  that  counterpart. 

The  mother  instinct  and  hatred  of  motherhood 
are  not  split  in  the  human  soul.  The  homosexual 
woman  always  shows  the  hatred  of  motherhood  and 
her  alleged  love  of  children,  when  such  a  senti- 
ment is  claimed  at  all,  proves  but  a  self-deception 
and  lip-service  at  best.  In  our  study  of  female 
dyspareunia  we  propose  fully  to  prove  that  con- 
clusion in  connection  with  the  histories  of  several 
homosexual  women.  We  do  find  many  instances  of 
alleged  affection  for  children  but  in  reality  these 
are  only  caricatures  of  the  true  sentiment  and  only 
rarely  the  affection  as  it  is  characteristic  of  normal 
woman.  Our  school  teacher  in  love  with  the  boy 
pupil,  whose  case  we  gave  in  full  in  the  preceding 
pages,  did  not  love  children  as  such  and  did  not 
care  to  have  children  of  his  own.  Through  his  love 
for  the  boy  the  repressed  father  instinct  also  found 
outlet. 

The  life  histories  of  homosexual  women  differ  from 
those  of  males  only  in  the  fact  that  occasionally 
there  seems  present  a  certain  yearning  for  children, 
as  if  the  child  could  bring  about  release  from  the 
passion  and  a  new  state  of  bliss.  Beyond  that  the 
urlind  shows  the  same  psychogenesis  as  the  urning. 
There  is  a  strong  fixation  on  the  family,  though  not 
always  on  the  father,  as  Hirschfeld  claims.  In  ad- 
dition to  that,  rather  commonly  there  is  found  affec- 


96  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

tion  for  the  mother  which  is  fairly  open,  and  tender- 
ness for  some  sister  which  persists  through  life  and 
assumes  remarkable  masks. 

I  want  to  conclude  this  chapter  with  the  histories 
of  some  cases  of  female  homosexuality  which  may 
serve  to  illustrate  clearly  the  points  I  have  just 
made: 

69.  Miss  DSC — we  shall  call  her  by  that  name — 
after  a  series  of  various  exciting  episodes  has  fallen 
a  victim  to  depression,  during  which  she  lost  a  great 
deal  of  weight,  but  in  spite  of  a  successful  fattening 
regime  her  stay  at  a  sanitarium  did  not  effect  a 
complete  cure.  She  is  an  impressively  attractive 
girl,  24  years  of  age,  voluptuous,  feminine  in  every 
way  up  to  her  angular,  somewhat  energetic  nose  and 
prominent,  curved  eyebrows.  Her  mother,  of  whom 
the  girl  speaks  with  much  feeling,  believes  that  the 
girl's  breakdown  dates  from  the  death  of  the  father. 
Use  irritatedly  contradicts  the  mother  several  times, 
breaking  into  a  quarrelsome  attitude  towards  her 
mother  over  trifles.  Reprimanded  by  her  mother, 
she  falls  into  her  depression  and  speaks  no  word. 
I  take  her  under  treatment  and  for  a  week  I  have 
in  her  a  heavy  burden  on  my  hands.  She  hardly 
says  anything,  is  very  negativistic  in  her  attitude, 
only  muttering  from  time  to  time:  "Don't  trouble 
yourself.  It  will  never  be  any  different.  Better  give 
me  something  that  will  put  me  quickly  out  of  the 


Depression  97 

way."  She  livens  up  somewhat  only  when  referring 
to  her  father, — thinks  he  should  have  not  passed 
away.  The  mother  should  have  called  in  a  specialist. 
In  fact,  it  was  as  much  her  fault  as  anybody's,  for 
she  had  failed  to  insist  on  calling  the  best  aid  while 
there  was  time. 

Gradually  she  extends  me  her  confidence  and  one 
day  she  appears, — like  a  changed  person.  She  must 
tell  me  the  truth.  She  is  not  a  normal  person.  Since 
childhood  she  has  been  homosexual  and  had  never 
cared  for  men.  Her  mother  had  implied  as  much 
when  she  said  to  me:  "I  cannot  understand  the  girl. 
She  always  fled  from  the  room  when  young  men  called 
on  Alfred  (her  brother).  The  girl  is  a  man  hater." 
This  fact  the  girl  had  denied  during  the  first  visit, 
but  now  she  herself  admitted.  She  had  never  cared 
for  men.  On  the  other  hand,  at  11  years  of  age  she 
had  already  fallen  passionately  in  love  with  a  woman 
school  teacher.  She  was  a  frolicsome  girl,  often 
wore  her  brother's  clothes,  and  played  with  all  the 
young  boys  of  the  neighborhood.  At  14  years  of 
age  she  again  fell  in  love  with  a  girl  friend. 

Her  current  depression  is  due  to  a  terrible  dis- 
appointment. She  had  maintained  a  love  affair  with 
a  French  woman  and  was  happy.  She  said  nothing 
about  the  character  of  the  relations,  but  admitted 
that  they  were  very  intimate.  Suddenly  she  found 
out  that  the  French  woman  was  not  true  to  her,  but 
was  keeping  up  intimate  relations  more  often  with 


98  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

other  girls  than  with  her.  She  suffered  tremen- 
dously on  account  of  her  jealousy.  She  began  to 
feel  a  disgust  against  all  women  not  unlike  her 
former  aversion  to  men.  Asked  why  she  was  so 
antagonistic  to  men,  she  answered:  "Because  they 
are,  all,  without  exception,  disgusting  brutes.  .  .  ." 

At  this  point  Use  begins  to  relate  her  past  ex- 
periences. She  was  seven  years  of  age  when  she 
visited  an  uncle.  He  showed  her  his  big  membrum 
virile  and  asked  her  to  hold  it  in  her  hand.  She  did 
this  as  well  as  other  things  he  requested  her  usque 
et  ejaculationem.  "How  shall  I  have  any  respect 
for  men  when  they  don't  hesitate  thus  to  poison  the 
innocent  soul  of  a  child?"  The  uncle  is  still  living. 
.  .  .  She  has  since  thought  that  it  must  be  some 
morbid  tendency  and  has  forgiven  him.  "It  hap- 
pened only  a  few  times  and  the  uncle  believes  I  have 
forgotten  it.  .  .  ." 

Another  traumatic  incident  impressed  her  more 
seriously ;  it  was,  in  fact,  a  series  of  traumas.  Her 
mother  was  a  light-minded  person  and  is  so  to  this 
day,  despite  her  50  years.  But  she  knows  enough 
to  dress  herself  so  attractively  and  with  such  a  dis- 
play of  refinement  that  she  is  still  capable  of  achiev- 
ing conquests.  There  follow  a  number  of  serious 
complaints  against  the  mother,  which  must  have 
been  true,  for  I  have  had  opportunity  to  convince 
myself  of  the  truth  of  some  of  the  statements.  The 
mother  always  kept  on  the  string  a  number  of  lovers 


Early  Life  History  99 

who  gratified  her  extravagant  requirements.  As  a 
child  she  had  been  taken  along  to  a  number  of 
rendezvous  and  has  repeatedly  witnessed  the  display 
of  tendernesses  between  the  lovers.  She  also  recalled 
various  household  scenes  from  her  early  childhood. 
As  a  child  she  was  already  very  sensuous  and  mas- 
turbated jointly  with  the  sister  and  the  brother. 
She  was  precocious  as  well  as  prematurely  spoiled 
and  every  one  thought  she  would  early  turn  out  to 
be  like  her  mother.  Then  her  sister  underwent  a 
great  change  in  character.  She  became  religious 
and  wanted  to  join  a  nunnery.  She  made  fun  of 
her  religious-minded  sister  but  secretly  admired  her 
for  her  chastity.  She  was  14  years  of  age  at  the 
time.  She  now  knows  that  she  was  in  love  with  the 
family  physician  and  that  she  was  interested  in  men, 
but  at  the  same  time  she  was  in  love  at  different 
times  with  various  teachers  and  girl  friends.  When 
her  sister  was  16  years  of  age  she  had  a  love  affair 
with  an  army  lieutenant  and  had  to  go  to  a  sani- 
tarium to  be  curetted,  fever  set  in  after  the  opera- 
tion, and  for  several  weeks  the  girl  was  seriously  ill. 
Her  sister's  experience  shook  her  to  pieces.  In- 
wardly she  had  been  proud  that  there  was  such  a 
pure,  innocent  girl  in  the  family.  Now  that  her 
sister  followed  the  example  of  her  mother  it  seemed 
to  her  that  she,  too,  was  fated  to  follow  in  the  same 
path  and  that  there  could  be  no  escape  for  her. 
During  that  period  her  character  underwent  a 


100  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

change  and  she  acquired  a  tremendous  dislike  for  all 
small  children.  She  could  not  suffer  to  see  a  small 
child.  She  thought  to  herself,  if  she  were  its  mother 
she  would  strangle  it.  The  feeling  was  so  horrible 
that  she  could  not  sleep.  In  time  she  improved 
somewhat,  but  the  dislike  of  children  or,  rather,  the 
fear  of  them,  that  is,  the  fear  that  she  might  do 
some  harm  to  them,  never  left  her. 

I  suspected  that  back  of  this  feeling-attitude 
towards  the  children  might  be  found  the  solution  of 
her  problem.  I  reverted  back  to  her  sixteenth  year, 
for  it  was  at  that  period  that  she  turned  definitely 
against  all  men. 

"Why  do  you  hate  children?" 

"Not  that,  exactly.  ...  In  fact,  I  was  at  one 
time  foolish  over  them.  I  have  always  wanted  chilr 
dren.  When  I  told  you  that  I  always  played  boyish 
games  it  was  not  exactly  the  truth.  I  remember 
now  that  I  played  nurse  to  my  doll  and  that  we  often 
played  the  game  of  childbirth.  Brother  was  the 
doctor  and  I  was  the  pregnant  lady  in  bed." 

"Did  you  happen  to  witness  childbirth  as  a  little 
girl?" 

"Yes,  everything.  .  .  .  Our  aunt  gave  birth  to  a 
child  in  our  home, — a  romantic  story.  An  illegiti- 
mate child;  her  parents  were  not  to  know  anything 
about  the  birth,  or  they  would  have  disowned  her. 
But  we  children  knew  everything.  Afterwards  she 


Life  History  101 

married  the  man  but  was  very  unhappy  with  him. 
The  little  baby  was  with  us  for  a  time.  I  was  very 
fond  of  it  and  carried  it  around.  .  .  ." 

"Have  you  other  such  aunts  in  the  family?" 

"Between  us :  mother's  family  has  a  poor  reputa- 
tion. There  were  six  sisters,  each  more  flighty  than 
the  next.  None  was  a  virgin  at  marriage.  Things 
were  always  happening  and  there  was  never  any 
peace.  That  is  why  I  was  so  shocked  over  sister's 
experience.  I  was  getting  to  think  it  was  my  fate 
also  to  become  .  .  .  merely  a  prostitute.  You  will 
pardon  me  for  speaking  so  harshly  about  my  own 
mother.  But  unfortunately  it  is  the  truth.  .  .  ." 

"A  prostitute  is  purchasable.  .  .  .  There  is  some 
difference  whether  one  is  light-minded  through  pas- 
sion or  for  gain." 

(After  a  lengthy  pause.)  "Just  what  I  did  find 
out  at  the  time.  Mother  was  to  be  had  for  money. 
Father  was  a  humble  employee,  an  unsuccessful 
jurist,  who  eked  out  a  living  doing  secretarial  serv- 
ice for  an  attorney.  He  could  not  keep  up  with  the 
large  household  expenses  even  though  he  occasionally 
transacted  a  business  deal  on  the  side  which  netted 
him  a  considerable  sum.  Mother  always  had  a 
friend  who  took  care  of  our  needs.  Thus  we  were 
brought  up  rather  well  educated,  my  brother  could 
afford  to  study,  we  did  everything." 

"Did  you  know  all  that  already  as  a  child?" 


102  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

"I  knew  it  at  a  very  early  age.  .  .  ." 
"You  think,  then,  that  your  sister  was  also  paid 
and  that  she  sold  herself?" 

"No,  nothing  like  that.  In  addition  to  the  pay- 
ing lover  mother  always  had  one,  a  purely  heart 
affair,  on  the  side.  It  was  funny !  The  men  always 
brought  us  candies  and  all  sorts  of  presents.  When 
we  grew  older  mother  became  a  little  more  careful. 
Still,  there  was  enough  going  on  to  bring  shame  as 
I  look  back.  And  so  there  came  into  our  house  also 
a  young  lieutenant  whom  mother  had  picked  up — 
God  knows  where.  This  fellow  was  mother's  avowed 
lover  and  could  do  as  he  pleased.  The  terrible  thing 
was  that  he  began  to  pursue  also  sister  and  after  a 
few  jealousy  quarrels  mother  had  to  put  up  with  it, 
— she  perhaps  even  encouraged  the  affair.  For  I 
overheard  once  a  talk  between  them  and  heard 
mother  reproach  'Shikki,' — that  was  the  lieutenant's 
nickname, — that  he  had  used  sister.  She  could  have 
obtained  a  large  sum  of  money  for  the  girl  because 
she  was  a  virgin  and  the  girl  would  have  been  pro- 
vided for.  Then  there  followed  bitter  quarrels  be- 
tween mother  and  sister." 

I  interrupt  the  conversation  at  this  point.  It 
turns  out  that  she,  too,  was  in  love  with  the  lieu- 
tenant, and  so  were  the  others  of  the  household, 
including  the  father  and  the  brother;  she  was  also 
jealous  of  her  mother.  Her  jealousy  opened  her 


Psychogenesis  of  Hatred  103 

eyes.  That  is  how  it  happened  that  she  heard  the 
unpleasant  rumors  about  her  mother  circulating 
among  the  neighbors.  She  began  hating  her  mother, 
but  that  continued  only  for  a  short  time.  Then  her 
hatred  turned  to  children.  She  hated  first  herself, 
the  child  who  bore  no  respect  for  the  mother.  She 
did  not  want  to  be  like  her  mother  and  her  sister. 
She  knew  that  she  would  have  to  submit  to  similar 
experiences ;  that  her  fate  was  sealed.  She  strove 
against  her  feminine  and  motherly  instincts.  But 
the  analysis  disclosed  that  she  really  entertained  one 
supreme  wish  which  she  was  unwilling  to  countenance 
openly :  she  wanted  to  be  a  mother  and  to  bear  many, 
many  children.  But  the  neurotic  reaction  thwarted 
her  powerful  motherly  instinct.  To  be  a  mother 
meant  identification  with  the  despised  mother.  Her 
better  feelings  prompted  her  to  draw  herself  far 
apart  from  the  mother. 

She  did  not  want  to  be  a  woman.  She  did  not 
want  to  be  so  easy-going  as  her  mother.  At  that 
time  her  brother  also  showed  a  temperamental 
change.  He  became  serious-minded,  began  to  write 
verses,  and  to  take  an  interest  in  all  sorts  of 
idealistic  endeavors.  She  linked  herself  to  him  and 
before  long  she  differentiated  herself  completely 
from  the  rest  of  the  household,  and  particularly 
from  the  mother.  She  sought  earnest-minded  girl 
friends  and  came  into  frequent  contact  with  her 
brother's  companions,  but  was  unapproachable,  even 


104  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

though  she  expressed  herself  freely  and  frankly 
about  all  subjects.  Her  strongly  sensuous  tem- 
perament threw  her  next  into  the  arms  of  the 
Frenchwoman  and  she  preferred  that  to  a  love  affair 
with  a  man  as  she  was  afraid  of  children.  After 
the  Frenchwoman's  breach  of  loyalty  she  fell  into 
her  depression. 

This  circumstance  also  disclosed  an  interesting 
sidelight.  She  confessed  to  me  that  the  French- 
woman was  also  her  brother's  sweetheart.  It  had 
never  been  mentioned  by  the  woman  but  she  knew  it 
even  before  she  entered  into  intimate  relations  with 
her.  Nevertheless  it  was  her  happiest  period. 

The  depression  is  thus  traceable  to  a  second 
source.  The  brother  had  abandoned  the  French- 
woman, having  chosen  another  sweetheart,  of  whom 
he  was  very  fond  and  whom  he  intended  to  marry. 
The  Frenchwoman  was  only  a  sensuous  play  affair 
with  him,  the  brother  belonged  wholly  to  her.  They 
were  always  together  and  she  knew  all  his  secrets. 
She  was  never  jealous  when  she  knew  that  he  kept  up 
relations  with  some  girl  or  woman  so  long  as  he  did 
not  love  soulfully.  But  now  the  brother  became 
acquainted  with  a  wealthy,  beautiful  girl,  with  whom 
he  fell  in  love  and  whom  he  was  going  actually  to 
marry.  This,  for  the  brother,  lucky  event, — came 
to  nothing  in  the  end  on  account  of  the  opposition 
of  the  girl's  family, — left  her  cool.  All  she  saw  was 
that  she  was  losing  her  brother,  and  that  he  no 


Differentiation  from  t]ie  Mother          105 

longer  belonged  to  her.  He  could  not  marry  the  girl 
because  her  parents  required  that  he  should  first 
prove  his  ability  to  support  her.  But  the  two  lovers 
agreed  to  wait  for  one  another  and  the  brother  had 
gone  already  pretty  far  and  he  may  yet  succeed 
to  marry  the  girl,  despite  the  mother's  deplorable 
reputation.  He  lives  no  longer  with  his  family  and 
avoids  the  old  home.  He  only  sees  her  from  time 
to  time  and  they  are  still  good  old  pals,  whenever 
they  meet.  .  .  . 

This  interesting  analysis  illustrates  all  the  chief 
points  to  be  found  in  the  psychogenesis  of  male 
homosexuality.  In  fact  the  girl  was  on  the  point  of 
becoming  as  fond  of  men  as  her  mother,  perhaps  of 
indulging  in  bisexual  activities.  Her  sister's  ex- 
perience opened  her  eyes  and  acted  as  a  terrible 
warning.  The  yearning  for  purity  which  animates 
every  soul  and  is  the  polar  counterpart  of  the  desire 
for  tasting  every  sort  of  experience,  became  upper- 
most in  her  case,  the  fear  of  becoming  like  the  sister, 
or  like  the  mother,  and  her  hatred  of  the  mother, 
jointly,  had  the  effect  of  shaping  her  into  a  different 
being.  She  probably  would  have  not  yielded  to  the 
homosexual  love  of  the  Frenchwoman  had  she  not 
been  overcome  by  the  fact  that  the  woman  was  her 
brother's  sweetheart.  It  was  a  case  of  incest 
through  a  third  person.  .  .  .  She  hated  her  mother 
and  had  to  protect  herself  against  the  danger  of 


106  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

having  children  who  grow  up  to  be  one's  enemies. 
Thus  children  became  her  enemies.  The  father 
played  a  negligible  role  in  her  life  and  had  no  influ- 
ence on  the  development  of  her  homosexuality. 

I  do  not  know  well  her  subsequent  history.  Her 
depression  was  soon  relieved  and  her  hatred  of  chil- 
dren disappeared  entirely.  But  she  left  Vienna  and 
went  to  another  country,  obviously  to  get  away  from 
her  family  and  to  forget  her  whole  past.  I  had 
advised  her  to  do  so  and  the  fact  that  she  had  fol- 
lowed my  advice  permits  us  to  hope  that,  after  the 
tempestuous  course  of  her  past  life,  she  may  have 
succeeded,  at  last,  in  finding  a  friendlier  harbor. 


m 


HOMOSEXUALITY    AND    JEALOUSY MASKED    JEALOUSY 

THE     JEALOUS     WIFE     OF     A     PHYSICIAN WHY 

WOMEN    ABUSE    SEEVANT    GIRLS TEANSFEEENCE 

OF  JEALOUSY  TO  THE  SUEEOUNDINGS JEALOUSY 

OF   THE    FATHEE JEALOUSY   OF   THE    EESIDENCE 

JEALOUSY     OF    THE     PAST A    YOUNG     WOMAN 

OVEESENSITIVE  TO  ANY  NOISES. 


In  der  Eifersucht  liegt  mehr  Eigenliebe  als  Liebe. 

— Rochefoucauld. 


Ill 

Jealousy  involves  self-love  rather  than  love. 

— Rochefoucauld. 

Jealousy  is  the  projection  of  one's  own  insuffi- 
ciencies to  the  surroundings.1  It  is  an  atavistic 
awakening  of  the  brutal  sense  of  self  such  as  was 
common  to  the  primordial  man  protecting  his  pos- 
sessions. All  children  are  jealous.  Jealousy  leads 
us  back  to  the  sources  of  man's  instinctive  life. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  take  up  the  whole  subject 
of  jealousy.  But  morbid  jealousy  shows  certain 
definite,  almost  regular,  relations  to  homosexuality 
which  we  must  consider.  We  have  seen  that  homo- 
sexuality may  be  hidden  from  consciousness.  That 
is  also  true  of  jealousy.  I  have  seen  many  neu- 
rotics who  have  suffered  tremendously  on  account  of 
their  jealousy,  without  being  aware  of  it.  In  the 
masking  of  neurosis  jealousy  assumes  most  remark- 
able forms. 

The  next  case  illustrates  the  masking  of  jealousy, 

1  Cf.  chapter  on  Jealousy  in  my  collection  of  essays,  "Was 
am  Qrunde  der  Seele  ruht  .  .  .,"  Wien,  1909,  Hofbuchhand- 
lung  Paul  Knepler.  English  Version,  The  Depths  of  the  Soul, 
translated  by  Dr.  8.  A.  Tannenbaum,  Moffat,  Yard  &  Co., 
N.  Y. 

100 


110  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

its  fusion  with  homosexuality,  and  contains  various 
points  of  psychologic  interest: 

70.  A  highly  intelligent  subject,  H.  J.,  writes 
me:  "Have  you  already  reflected  on  how  we  discern 
certain  similarities  on  certain  days  and  fail  to  do  so 
at  other  times?  You  are  undoubtedly  aware  that 
neurotics  and  normal  persons  are  fond  of  finding 
resemblances  when  they  formulate  identifications. 
The  lover  finds  that  the  beloved  walks  like  mother, 
or  that  she  talks  like  the  latter,  and  if  physically 
no  resemblance  can  be  established  he  finds  the  same 
mental  characteristics,  the  same  soul,  perhaps  the 
same  shortcomings.  But  I  want  to  speak  of  an 
entirely  different  peculiarity.  One  forenoon  I  see 
a  man,  who  looked  enough  like  my  friend,  X,  the 
painter,  to  be  taken  for  the  latter.  I  walk  up  to 
him  and  say:  Hello,  X, — still  under  the  impression 
of  that  mistake.  A  strange  face  wearing  a  beard 
of  familiar  form  is  staring  at  me.  I  offer  the  usual 
apologetic  explanation  and  go  my  way.  After  a 
while  I  see  again  my  friend  X,  this  time  somewhat 
dimly,  not  quite  so  certain  of  it  as  before.  I  recover 
from  this  illusion  quickly  enough. 

"By  that  time  my  psychologic  curiosity  is  roused 
and  it  occurs  to  me  that  my  wife  told  me  that  morn- 
ing she  was  going  to  visit  the  painter,  X,  during  the 
forenoon.  I  listened  indifferently  to  the  statement, 
merely  asking  her  to  give  him  my  greetings.  But 


Cryptic  Jealousy  111 

a  certain  unrest  must  have  risen  in  the  unconscious : 
your  wife  goes  to  the  painter  who  likes  her  and 
makes  love  to  her.  Nothing  of  that  in  consciousness 
at  all.  Painters  are  a  light-minded  class  who  do 
not  take  such  things  seriously.  Who  knows  whether 
your  wife  will  be  strong  enough  to  resist? 

"These  secret  fears  led  to  a  symptomatic  act.  I 
accosted  a  stranger  as  X,  the  painter.  In  other 
words, — a  wish  fulfilment.  For  if  I  meet  X  on  the 
street  he  cannot  possibly  be  in  his  studio  at  this 
time.  My  wish  is  that  he  shall  not  be  at  home. 
My  wife  shall  go  to  the  studio  and  find :  Mr.  X  is  not 
in.  ...  That  wish  came  up  on  three  different  occa- 
sions that  morning.  For  I  thought  I  saw  Mr.  X  in 
the  street  three  different  times.  Moreover,  I  project 
X  upon  strange  faces.  Because  I  think  constantly 
of  X,  because  my  mind  is  wholly  preoccupied  with 
him,  because  I  am  innerly  preoccupied  with  the  un- 
countenanced  thought:  what  does  X  now  do  with 
your  wife? — I  see  X  everywhere.  Ringstrasse  is 
filled  with  men  looking  like  him;  every  man  is  a 
Mr.  X. 

"The  illusion  at  this  juncture  denotes  also  another 
suspicion.  An  additional  thought  renders  the  first 
one  pregnant  with  significance.  Yesterday  I  heard 
the  opinion  expressed  at  a  gathering,  'Any  woman 
may  be  had  and  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  virtuous 
woman!'  I  opposed  vehemently  that  cynical 
thought  (Pauschalverdachtigung)  and  I  tried  to  the 


112  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

best  of  my  ability  to  point  out  the  ridiculous  and 
unfair  implications  of  this  notion.  And  today  I  am 
surprised  to  find  myself  entertaining  the  thought. 
These  men  who  look  like  X,  the  great  unknown,  are 
alike  attractive  and  powerful  men,  just  like  X.  You 
are  reflecting :  Who  knows  whether  this  or  that  man 
is  not  actually  your  wife's  lover  ?  Why  do  the  words 
from  Faust  come  into  my  mind:  'The  whole  town 
has  her9  ?  ...  In  justice  to  my  wife's  honor  I  must 
now  state  that  she  is  in  fact  an  exemplary  woman 
and  that  I  entertain  no  trace  of  suspicion  about  her 
conduct.  But  I  am  deliberately  looking  for  excuses 
to  vindicate  myself.  I  mean  to  believe  that  every 
woman  is  guilty,  including  therefore  my  own  wife, 
so  as  to  justify  in  my  eyes  my  new  love  affairs.  .  .  . 
I  am  envious  of  X,  of  his  free  ways  with  women,  and 
would  like  to  be  in  his  place,  receiving  ladies  in  the 
studio.  I  would  like  to  be  X.  In  my  phantasy  I 
am  X,  and  see  myself  as  X  in  every  stranger. 

"A  lady  of  my  acquaintance  always  saw  her  de- 
ceased husband  on  the  street  in  the  person  of  some 
stranger  who  seemed  closely  to  resemble  him.  This 
peculiar  resemblance  to  strangers  was  noticeable 
particularly  when  her  mind  turned  to  light  and 
frivolous  thoughts.  As  if  the  image  of  the  husband 
came  forward  to  warn  and  protect  her:  'It  is  only 
three  years  since  I  have  passed  away  and  already 
you  begin  to  turn  your  mind  to  trivial  joys?  Be- 


Cryptic  Fear  113 

ware.  I  watch  you  from  Heaven  and  I  see  every- 
thing you  do.'  " 

We  admit  freely  that  our  subject  is  a  keen-minded 
psychologist  possessing  an  extraordinary  capacity 
for  introspection,  yet  this  excellent  piece  of  self- 
analysis  seemed  to  me  to  overlook  something  impor- 
tant. I  therefore  write  Mr.  H.  J.  that  I  should 
like  to  talk  this  interesting  episode  over  with  him 
and  I  invite  him  to  call  on  me.  He  accepts  the  invi- 
tation. From  our  conversation  I  report  only  some 
of  the  more  important  points : 

"Has  it  not  struck  you  that  the  men  who  im- 
pressed you  as  bearing  resemblance  were  exclusively 
attractive  and  powerful  men?" 

"No,  because  my  friend,  X,  the  painter,  is  also 
an  attractive  and  well  built  man.  Others  would  not 
look  like  him.  .  .  ." 

"Are  you  also  otherwise  jealous?" 

"No;  not  in  the  least;  only  about  X, — and  even 
that  I  did  not  know  or  was  perhaps  too  proud  to 
admit  to  myself." 

"What  is  your  attitude  towards  X?  Do  you  care 
for  him  also  as  you  do  ...  ?" 

".  .  .  For  my  wife,  you  mean?  I  do.  I  love  him. 
He  is  a  charming  fellow." 

"Is  it  not  strange  that  you  should  be  jealous 
precisely  of  the  one  man  whom  you  also  like  so  well  ?" 

He  reflects  a  while  and  finds  no  answer.  I  explain 
to  him  that  it  shows  a  repressed  homosexual  dispo- 


114  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

sition  towards  his  friend.  The  trend  of  his  uncon- 
scious thought  is:  "//  I  were  a  woman  I  could  not 
withstand  him"  Perhaps  the  thought  goes  even 
further  than  that :  "Too  bad  1  am  not  a  woman  for 
then  I  would  enjoy  that  beautiful  man.  .  .  ." 

He  sees  at  once  the  relationship  between  his  jeal- 
ousy and  the  unrecognized  inner  homosexual  dispo- 
sition. He  relates  that  this  man  is  the  only  friend 
whom  he  greets  with  a  kiss  after  a  prolonged  absence, 
that  he  likes  to  take  him  by  the  arm  and  to  hold  his 
hand. 

In  short,  he  himself  is  in  love  with  his  friend.  He 
sees  his  friend  everywhere  and  the  slightest  resem- 
blances impress  themselves  strongly  on  his  mind. 
They  are  emanations  from  his  one  thought:  /  like 
him  and  I  wish  I  were  a  woman  to  yield  to  him. 

It  is  very  tempting  to  try  to  trace  the  various 
paths  of  unconscious  jealousy.  But  that  would  lead 
us  too  far  off  our  present  theme.  As  we  are  con- 
fronted with  a  very  complicated  condition  which 
may  have  the  most  varied  roots  I  propose  to  give  a 
few  clinical  illustrations  from  my  own  practice  and 
to  discuss  the  various  forms  of  jealousy  on  the  basis 
of  these  data. 

71.  The  first  case  of  jealousy  which  I  had  occa- 
sion to  observe  was  that  of  a  physician's  wife.  The 
woman,  45  years  of  age,  relates :  "Perhaps  you  can 
free  me  from  a  painful  condition  which  embitters  my 


Jealousy  115 

whole  life  and  turns  my  marriage  into  a  veritable 
hell.  I  have  been  married  already  22  years  and  can 
assert  that  I  have  not  yet  had  a  happy  day  except 
when  my  husband  is  all  day  alone  with  me  and  we 
have  no  occasion  to  come  into  contact  with  another 
female  person.  He  is  a  physician  and  already  dur- 
ing our  engagement  I  was  jealous  of  all  his  women 
patients.  I  did  not  know  this  awful  trait  in  myself 
before.  At  any  rate  it  was  not  so  pronounced  or  I 
should  have  not  married  my  husband.  At  first  I  was 
jealous  of  my  immediate  acquaintances  and  friends, 
particularly  of  the  very  pretty  women  among  them. 
After  marriage  my  condition  grew  worse  and  worse. 
During  the  consultation  hours  I  watched  behind  the 
door  and  shivered  with  actual  nervous  chills  in  my 
excitement.  My  husband  was  a  woman  specialist 
and  a  very  popular  woman  specialist  at  that.  I 
implored  him  to  abandon  that  specialty  and  to  take 
up  any  other.  I  admit  that  the  fact  of  his  being  a 
woman  specialist  had  at  first  excited  my  interest  in 
him  and  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  my  choice  of 
the  man.  I  thought  to  myself:  the  man  sees  so 
many  beautiful  women,  he  sees  them  naked,  and  yet 
has  chosen  you, — the  thought  flattered  me  immensely. 
That  was  well  enough  at  first,  but  later  the  feeling 
of  jealousy  grew  in  its  stead. 

I  had  a  very  pretty  woman  friend  who  was  taking 
treatment  from  my  husband.  What  I  endured  dur- 
ing her  visits  is  beyond  my  powers  to  describe.  I 


116  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

said  to  myself :  'She  is  now  taking  off  her  blouse  and 
now  her  petticoat.  He  is  now  examining,  looking  at 
her  bosom,  and  now  she  lifts  herself  upon  the  exam- 
ination table,  she  stretches  her  limbs  apart.  .  .  .' 
I  suffered  hellish  torments.  I  was  convinced  that  my 
husband  could  not  withstand  this  woman's  charms 
and  would  kiss  her.  I  had  a  serious  quarrel  with 
him;  I  quarreled  with  my  friend,  who  turned  from 
me  with  indignation.  Our  marriage  relations  grew 
worse  on  that  account.  I  tortured  my  husband  so 
that  he  had  to  allow  me  to  watch  through  a  carefully 
hidden  peep-hole  what  was  going  on  in  the  consul- 
tation room.  In  that  manner  I  convinced  myself 
that  my  husband  was  physically  true  to  me.  But 
even  though  he  swore  a  thousand  times  that  the 
women  did  not  excite  him  in  the  least  I  could  not 
believe  him.  I  stuck  to  one  thing  which  I  harped  on 
daily :  'Give  up  your  specialty.'  Years  thus  passed 
in  quarrels  and  dispute.  I  have  now  a  married 
daughter  of  my  own  and  I  thought  to  myself  that 
with  advancing  age  my  condition  would  change. 
But  not  at  all !  It  grows  worse  and  I  transfer  now 
my  jealousy  also  to  my  son-in-law,  I  am  jealous  for 
my  daughter.  Fortunately,  she  has  no  real  reason 
to  feel  jealous  and  laughs  at  me.  .  .  . 

"I  am  also  jealous  of  my  daughter.  I  would  like 
to  preserve  her  love  for  myself  only  and  I  begrudge 
her  husband.  Although  she  made  an  excellent 


Psychogenesis  of  Jealousy  117 

match,  I  was  not  satisfied  and  treated  my  son-in-law 
very  unfairly.  I  was  unhappy  over  it  but  could 
not  help  it.  I  have  consulted  already  the  most 
famous  specialists,  have  been  for  six  weeks  under 
hypnotic  treatment  by  Prof.  X.  I  have  already 
kept  away  from  my  husband  for  three  months  at  a 
stretch, — nothing  has  helped." 

That  is  the  sufferer's  history.  What  is  the 
meaning  of  this  jealousy? 

The  root  of  this  jealousy  is  a  non-conscious  homo- 
sexuality. She  is  jealous  of  her  woman  friend  be- 
cause she  herself  is  in  love  with  the  friend.  She  puts 
herself  in  the  role  of  the  man,  the  physician,  and 
concludes  that  in  his  position  she  could  not  resist 
the  temptation.  She  imagines  herself  in  the  man's 
place;  she  scrutinizes  every  woman  with  hungry 
looks.  The  peep-hole  in  the  consultation  room 
serves  on  the  one  hand  the  purpose  of  calming  down 
her  jealousy  and  of  giving  the  poor  husband  a  few 
quiet  hours  ;  on  the  other  hand  it  enables  her  to  par- 
ticipate in  everything  that  is  taking  place  and  to 
gratify  her  craving  as  voyeuse.  This  control  is  her 
daily  homosexual  excitant,  the  means  through  which 
she  rouses  the  flames  of  her  passion  only  to  still  them 
afterwards  upon  her  husband. 

After  the  explanation  was  reached  there  was  a 
marked  improvement  in  her  condition.  The  woman 


118  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

saw  that  her  love  for  the  daughter  was  homosexual 
and  that  this  was  the  reason  why  she  was  so  jealous 
of  her  son-in-law. 

The  occurrence  is  far  from  rare,  and  many  a 
marriage  has  been  wrecked  on  account  of  it.  The 
angry  mother-in-law  is  always  the  mother  who  can- 
not live  without  her  daughter  and  who  wants  to  show 
her  daughter  that  the  husband  is  untrue  and  does 
not  appreciate  her  and  how  much  more  she  truly 
loves  the  daughter.  ...  I  have  also  often  seen  the 
daughter,  after  a  timorous  attempt  at  married  life, 
return  penitently  back  to  the  mother.  I  have  seen 
mothers  who  fight  for  their  daughters  with  a  lover's 
passion  and  with  their  tremendous  jealousy  putting 
all  sorts  of  difficulties  in  the  way  of  any  pretenders 
to  the  daughter's  hand.  I  have  found  that  kind  of 
jealousy  frequently  as  the  root  of  melancholia.  I 
refer  in  this  connection  to  Case  132  in  my  "Nervose 
Angstzustande"  (2nd  ed.,  p.  363). 

72.  The  next  case  of  jealousy  shows  the  same 
roots.  A  married  woman,  30  years  of  age,  consults 
me  on  account  of  an  unexplainable  jealousy  which 
has  been  torturing  her  for  about  four  weeks.  She 
tells  the  story  of  her  jealousy:  She  engaged  a  new 
servant,  a  very  young  girl,  somewhat  coquettish,  but 
who  at  first  glance  seemed  to  her  very  sympathetic. 
After  one  week  she  felt  jealous  and  found  that  her 
husband,  who  usually  did  not  so  much  as  look  at  the 


The  Jealous  Wife  119 

servants  in  the  house,  was  extremely  friendly  and 
courteous  towards  that  girl.  It  seemed  to  her  even 
that  he  was  bestowing  longing  glances  on  the  girl. 
At  first  she  kept  silent  because  she  hesitated  to  speak 
of  the  matter  to  her  husband.  But  after  a  time  she 
reproached  him  about  it:  he  must  be  more  strict. 
She  requested  him  to  assume  a  more  severe  tone  in 
his  relations  with  the  girl.  Her  husband  laughed 
at  her.  He  said  he  talked  to  the  girl  in  his  usual 
manner  and  nothing  more.  It  was  all  imagination 
on  her  part.  The  girl  was  very  good;  he  had  no 
reason  to  call  her  down  or  to  assume  a  more  severe 
tone  towards  her.  That  reassured  her  somewhat 
but  only  for  a  short  while.  She  watched  her  hus- 
band more  carefully  than  ever  and  thought  he  was 
much  charmed  by  the  girl.  She  arose  several  times 
during  the  night  to  go  into  the  servant's  room  and 
investigate.  Once  her  husband  had  some  gastric 
trouble  and  he  had  to  leave  the  room  several  times 
that  night.  She  was  convinced  that  it  was  but  an 
excuse  to  go  to  the  girl  and  several  times  she  fol- 
lowed him  along  the  chilly  passage  into  the  hall,  so 
that  her  husband  asked:  "What  is  the  matter  with 
you  this  time?"  She  said  she  was  worried  over  his 
condition  and  wanted  to  watch  and  see  that  he  was 
all  right.  Finally  her  jealousy  broke  to  surface  a 
number  of  times  and  she  reproached  her  husband 
very  bitterly  with  her  suspicions.  She  was  abso- 
lutely certain  that  he  was  intimate  with  the  girl. 


120  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Her  husband  was  indignant  and  asked  her  to  dismiss 
the  girl  at  once  so  that  there  might  be  an  end  to  that 
"foolish  notion."  The  remarkable  thing  was  that 
she  felt  unable  or  unwilling  to  dismiss  the  girl.  The 
girl  was  so  good  and  so  faithful,  it  is  so  hard  nowa- 
days to  find  an  efficient  girl  servant,  she  insisted 
only  that  her  husband  must  show  himself  more  strict 
with  her.  He  had  to  declare  on  his  oath  again  that 
there  was  no  intimacy  between  them.  Towards  the 
girl  she  felt  a  peculiar  anger  which  she  could  not 
understand.  At  times  she  could  have  flown  at  the 
girl  to  strike  her,  which  was  very  baffling  as  she  had 
never  been  in  the  habit  of  striking  a  servant.  But 
it  would  have  been  a  great  satisfaction  to  her  to  have 
pummelled  this  girl  who  caused  her  so  much  anguish. 
She  had  to  restrain  herself  forcefully  so  as  not  to 
give  vent  to  her  rage.  She  was  very  "touchy"  with 
the  girl  and  tolerated  not  the  least  contradiction 
on  her  part. 

Nevertheless  she  could  not  make  up  her  mind  to 
dismiss  the  girl,  and  yet  she  was  afraid  to  be  alone 
with  her. 

All  her  troubles  arose  on  account  of  her  homo- 
sexual attitude  towards  the  girl  who  was  in  fact  a 
charming  blonde  type  of  beauty.  She  herself  was  in 
love  with  the  girl ;  that  is  why  she  could  not  conceive 
that  her  husband  might  be  indifferent  towards  her. 
She  figured :  //  I  were  a  man  I  would  love  this  girl! 
Interesting,  and  at  the  same  time  typical,  is  her  rage 


The  Growth  of  Jealousy  121 

and  desire  to  strike  the  girl.  The  love  feeling  is 
converted  into  its  opposite  and  the  longing  to  touch 
the  girl  (that  is,  to  come  into  contact  with  her  body) 
manifests  itself  in  the  inclination  to  strike  her.  How 
often  love  contacts  disguise  themselves  as  angry 
blows  under  the  mask  of  anger ! 

I  explain  to  the  woman  that  she  must  dismiss 
the  girl  when  she  saw  clearly  the  meaning  of  her 
jealousy.  After  the  girl  left  all  the  unpleasant 
symptoms  mentioned  above  vanished. 

Another  form  of  jealousy  transfers  itself  from 
one  object  to  another,  or  to  the  whole  surroundings. 
Such  transference  of  jealousy  serves  the  purpose  of 
masking  from  self  and  from  others  the  real  object 
of  the  original  jealousy. 

73.  Mrs.  H.  G.  is  a  woman,  38  years  of  age,  who 
has  been  living  happily  with  her  husband.  At  pres- 
ent she  is  unhappy  on  account  of  jealousy.  Here 
is  her  statement :  "I  have  called  on  you  to  ask  you 
to  relieve  me  of  a  condition  which  I  find  simply  un- 
bearable. I  have  a  good,  fine  husband  against  whom 
I  cannot  complain  of  anything.  He  is  a  splendid 
and  model  man  in  every  way.  I  am  the  more  dis- 
tressed therefore  to  be  so  jealous  of  him.  I  felt  that 
way,  first,  while  my  husband  was  ill  with  typhus 
which  left  him  with  heart  trouble.  He  has  to  be 
more  careful  of  himself  because  of  the  illness  he  has 
been  through,  and  whereas  formerly  he  had  inter- 


122  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

course  with  me  two  and  three  times  a  week,  now  it 
happens  only  about  once  a  month.  My  husband  is 
not  well, — I  know  it ;  his  physician  has  expressly 
told  me  that  he  must  keep  very  quiet  and  avoid  all 
excitement.  Nevertheless  I  cannot  help  feeling  that 
he  is  untrue  to  me.  I  am  so  ashamed  of  it  that  I 
have  not  yet  breathed  a  word  about  my  jealousy  to 
my  husband.  In  fact,  we  are  nearly  always  to- 
gether. I  know  all  his  affairs  and  I  often  go  along 
wherever  he  goes.  But  I  cannot  hang  on  to  him 
every  minute.  So  I  hold  the  watch  in  hand  and 
count  the  minutes,  even  the  seconds,  for  him  to 
return.  Always  the  one  thought:  He  is  untrue  to 
you  this  very  minute!  If  he  goes  to  another  office, 
I  think  he  does  it  because  there  is  a  pretty  office  girl 
there  with  whom  he  is  in  love.  If  he  takes  a  meal 
at  a  restaurant,  it  is  because  he  has  a  rendezvous. 
If  he  is  a  few  minutes  late  coming  home  from  the 
office,  he  was  with  a  street  woman.  In  short,  I  am 
tormented  all  the  time  by  these  evil  thoughts,  I 
struggle  against  them  but  cannot  put  them  out  of 
my  mind." 

"How  long  have  you  been  in  that  state?" 
"It  began  when  he  went  to  Franzensbad  on  ac- 
count of  his  heart  trouble.  There  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  a  spinster,  a  girl  46  years  of  age, 
who  was  also  alone.  They  two  got  together  and  kept 
each  other  company.  I  know  the  girl;  she  is  very 
honorable,  and  when  my  judgment  is  uppermost,  I 


Jealousy  Introspection  123 

say  to  myself:  Nothing  has  happened;  the  two  have 
merely  felt  a  temporary  intellectual  interest  in  one 
another.  But  in  my  evil  hours  my  mind  conjures 
up  the  worst  thoughts.  I  have  once  read  a  letter 
which  that  woman  had  written  my  husband.  She 
'thanked  him  for  his  interesting  company  during  the 
cure.  A  few  weeks  after  the  Franzensbad  cure,  there 
came  a  box  of  flowers  and  a  letter  for  my  husband. 
The  woman  wrote  thanking  him  for  his  pleasant 
company  during  the  cure, — she  was  very  glad  to 
have  made  the  acquaintance  of  so  prominent  and 
intellectual  a  gentleman  and  hoped  their  friendship 
would  endure  beyond  the  time  of  the  cure.  At  that  I 
reproached  my  husband  and  tortured  him  with  my 
jealousy.  He  gave  me  his  word  of  honor  that  his 
relations  with  the  woman  were  strictly  of  a  friendly 
and  formal  character;  aside  of  his  own  considera- 
tions, he  was  a  sick  man  and  satisfied  to  be  left  alone. 
But  I  asked  him  to  give  up  all  further  correspond- 
ence with  the  woman  and  he  readily  consented.  He 
is  really  a  fine  fellow  who  grants  me  everything  I 
want,  a  man  who  reads  in  my  eyes  every  wish  of 
mine,  and  I  am  ashamed  to  think  ill  of  him  all  the 
time." 

Here  we  see  one  source  of  her  jealousy.  The 
woman  was  married  to  a  man  who  gratified  her  in 
every  respect ;  suddenly  she  had  to  restrict  herself 
to  an  abstinent  life.  The  enforced  abstinence  sug- 
gested the  thought :  You  are  still  young  and  attrac- 


124  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

tive,  so  many  men  are  after  you!  Take  a  lover. 
She  was  filled  with  fancies  of  longing  and  projected 
them  unto  her  husband.  If  he  were  unfaithful  it 
would  furnish  an  excuse  for  her.  She  needed  it ;  she 
wanted  him  to  be  unfaithful,  for  that  would  have 
served  her  as  a  defense.  Her  compulsive  thinking  is 
the  masking  of  the  thought:  Oh,  that  my  husband 
•were  unfaithful  so  that  I,  too,  might  take  a  lover! 

The  thought  was  suggested  to  her  by  the  fact  that 
the  wife  of  one  of  her  husband's  colleagues,  a  very 
light-minded  person,  was  able,  nevertheless,  to  keep 
up  a  very  handsome  social  position.  She  spoke  with 
great  feeling  about  that  woman. 

"Does  that  woman  not  take  loyalty  so  seriously 
as  you  do?" 

"That  woman  ?  She  does  not  have  one  lover ;  she 
has  six  at  a  time,  and  even  more!  She  certainly 
enjoys  life.  And  the  lovers  pay  for  everything.  She 
has  the  finest  wardrobe,  the  prettiest  hats,  takes 
wonderful  journeys  and  her  husband  knows  every- 
thing." 

"Isn't  her  husband  jealous?" 

"Oh,  no!  He  knows  everything,  and  consoles 
himself  in  his  own  way.  But,  do  you  know  the 
curious  part  of  it  all?  That  flighty  woman  is 
jealous  of  her  husband !  She  quarrels  bitterly  with 
him  when  she  hears  of  his  escapades,  although  she 
has  no  right.  The  two  have  taken  reciprocal 
freedom.  .** 


Cryptic  Jealousy  125 

This  is  also  a  common  occurrence  and  very  in- 
teresting. Married  couples  living  apart,  each  car- 
rying on  all  sorts  of  adventures  and  love  affairs,  yet 
jealous  of  each  other,  though  usually  they  do  not 
show  it.2  There  are  persons  who  love  each  other 
very  warmly,  but  in  the  struggle  between  the  sexes 
they  regard  loyalty  as  submissiveness,  as  a  hum- 
bling before  the  partner,  and  they  would  perish 
rather  than  submit  to  such  a  love.3 

Her  calculating  friend  is  a  sophisticated  woman 
possessing  wonderful  tact,  she  tastes  all  forms  of 
pleasure,  plays  a  certain  social  role,  and  enjoys 
every  phase  of  life.  Moreover  she  is  a  very  attrac- 
tive woman  appealing  strongly  to  our  jealous  sub- 
ject. 

Back  of  her  jealous  thoughts,  again,  there  stand 
homosexual  fancies.  At  the  time  when  her  husband 
began  to  restrict  his  marital  indulgences  her  homo- 
sexual longing  began  to  assert  itself.  She  did  not 
want  to  be  unfaithful.  She  was  thus  inhibited 
against  taking  up  a  man.  Therefore  her  thoughts 
could  only  turn  to  woman.  Her  inner  reflection 

1  With  his  wonderful  psychologic  mastery  Arthur  Schnitzler 
has  described  such  a  pair  in  his  best  piece  entitled,  "Das  weite 
Land."  Hofrichter,  the  manufacturer,  who  flutters  from  one 
love  affair  to  another,  and  his  wife,  who  consoles  herself  in 
the  arms  of  a  young  Cadet,  are  the  kind  of  a  pair  who  love 
each  other  but  go  down  in  ruin  rather  than  openly  acknowl- 
edge their  love. 

*Cf.  chapter  entitled,  "Der  Kampf  der  Oesclechter,"  in  my 
work,  The  Beloved  Ego,  translated  by  Dr.  S.  A.  Tamnenbawn, 
Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  N.  Y. 


126  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

was :  If  I  were  a  man,  I  would  enjoy  a  pretty  woman 
every  little  while  and  more  particularly  that  flighty 
friend  whom  I  like  so  well. 

The  flighty  woman  had  roused  every  feeling  in 
her.  Not  only  her  homosexuality,  but  also  all  those 
prostituting  tendencies  which  either  slumber  deeply 
hidden  in  every  woman's  soul  or  break  to  surface 
before  self  and  before  the  whole  world.  To  be  paid 
for  the  service  of  love,  to  receive  actual  coin  in 
recognition  of  her  sexual  charm — that  is  a  fancy 
looming  up  under  various  cover-symptoms  among 
the  neurotics. 

That  polygamic  friend  of  hers  achieved  every- 
thing that  a  woman  may  wish,  and  in  spite  of  that 
she  maintained  her  good  social  standing.  She 
moved  in  a  select  circle,  folks  merely  shutting  one 
eye  so  long  as  she  was  so  clever  in  covering  her 
tracks. 

That  example  is  constantly  before  her  eyes.  She 
herself  is  sexually  ungratified,  financially  she  can 
hardly  make  both  ends  meet,  and  she  sees  the  other 
woman  getting  everything  she  needs :  money  an-i 
love.  The  question,  Does  it  pay  to  be  honest? 
continually  recurs  to  her  mind. 

She  unburdens  herself  of  a  mass  of  similar  reflec- 
tions but  does  not  think  that  the  real  cause  of  her 
jealousy  depends  on  herself.  She  is  jealous  also  of 
the  servant  girl,  the  man  servant,  and  the  children. 
She  is  even  jealous  of  her  male  friends.  She  has  a 


Instinct  of  Possession  127 

certain  good  friend  whom  she  put  in  touch,  so  to 
speak,  with  a  woman  friend  because  he  did  not  mean 
anything  to  her.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  keeping 
up  a  close  acquaintance  with  that  woman  and  she 
is  very  jealous ;  she  would  like  to  get  him  away  from 
her  and  to  have  him  entirely  to  herself.  She  cannot 
bear  to  see  a  child  familiar  with  other  persons  and 
is  wild  even  when  the  servant  girl  receives  a  letter 
or  a  show  post  card  through  the  mail.  It  is  the  per- 
severance of  the  instinct  of  possession  on  account  of 
diminished  sexual  gratification.  She  is  reduced,  so 
to  speak,  to  small  rations  and  therefore  wants  to 
accumulate  and  reserve  for  herself  everything  the 
environment  yields  in  the  form  of  love.  The  little 
she  has  she  wants  to  preserve  for  herself  only  and 
to  protect  as  her  own  exclusive  possession.  The 
same  attitude  is  seen  on  the  part  of  children  who 
have  a  favorite  older  brother  or  sister.  They  are 
extremely  jealous  of  their  trifling  possessions  and 
are  enraged  when  the  other  children  in  the  house 
attempt  to  touch  their  toys.  The  others  may  have 
more,  but  what  little  they  possess  they  want  to  pre- 
serve exclusively  for  themselves. 

The  subject  thus  tells  about  her  jealousy  of 
everything  and  everybody.  But  she  displays  but 
little  understanding  of  psychic  relationships,  she  is 
afraid  to  come  to  me  because  while  at  my  office  she 
cannot  watch  her  husband,  and  stays  away  a  few 
days.  It  seems  as  if  she  had  something  important 


128  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

to  tell  me  but  does  not  quite  find  the  courage  to 
do  so. 

Soon  she  calls  at  my  office  again  complaining  that 
her  jealousy  grows  worse ;  she  suffered  terribly  that 
day,  and  all  through  the  previous  night  she  had 
hardly  closed  her  eyes.  And  presently  she  con- 
fesses that  the  jealousy  actually  began  after  the 
death  of  her  mother. 

"Do  you  know — dear  doctor — my  mother  was  the 
model  of  a  noble  woman.  She  was  virtuous,  dili- 
gent, well  educated,  sweet  tempered,  a  veritable  an- 
gel in  human  form.  In  spite  of  it  all — I  don't  know 
why — I  was  more  strongly  attached  to  father.  Pos- 
sibly because  he  played  more  with  us  and  paid  more 
attention  to  our  games  and  excursions  while  mother 
was  more  strict  in  her  training  and  careful  to  in- 
culcate in  us  a  sense  of  orderliness.  Mother  died 
of  a  painful  growth.  I  said  to  myself:  'Now  you 
must  take  mother's  place  with  father.  You  must 
take  care  of  him.'  Father  was  already  62  years  of 
age,  and  suffered  occasionally  of  gouty  attacks.  I 
was  tremendously  shocked  to  see  my  father  put 
aside  mourning  after  a  few  weeks  and  change  into 
an  elegant  man-about-town, — he  the  respectable 
town  official,  who  had  never  before  gone  a  step 
without  mother.  .  .  .  He  started  to  frequent  night- 
ly disreputable  dives  and  I  soon  heard  that  he 
was  having  relations  with  various  disreputable 
women  of  the  town.  I  was  so  disconsolate,  in  my 


Jealousy  of  the  Father  129 

anguish  I  visited  daily  mother's  grave.  There  I 
threw  myself  to  the  ground  and  out  of  the  bitter- 
ness of  my  heart  I  implored  mother  and  prayed  to 
her.  'Mother,'  I  cried,  'you  must  not  let  this  go 
on,  you  must  not  allow  your  good  name  and  honor 
»to  be  dragged  down  that  way.  Mother,  put  an 
end  to  these  shameful  doings.  Make  father  so  ill 
that  he  shall  be  unable  to  sin  any  more  and  besmirch 
your  memory.'  Thus  I  implored  and  prayed.  But 
it  did  not  do  any  good.  Soon  I  observed  that 
father  was  intimate  with  our  young  servant  girl 
and  that  she  was  trying  to  get  hold  of  his  money. 
I  drove  her  out  of  the  house  with  the  aid  of  the 
police  because  I  discovered  that  she  was  stealing 
money  from  father.  O,  I  was  like  a  fury  and  irrec- 
oncilable because  the  honor  of  my  mother  was  at 
stake,  and  I  had  ceased  to  respect  my  father  who 
had  been  the  dearest  person  in  the  world  to  me! 
After  that  I  had  peace  for  a  few  weeks  because 
father  suffered  one  of  his  gout  attacks.  I  prayed 
to  God  and  to  the  virgin  mother  to  keep  father  con- 
fined to  his  bed  so  that  he  should  be  able  no  longer 
to  add  to  his  sins.  But  father  got  well  soon  and 
resumed  his  former  care-free  nocturnal  rounds  of 
amusement  places.  Chorus  girls,  dancers,  street 
women  and  others  of  that  ilk  gathered  at  our  house 
and  were  lavishly  entertained.  Then  one  day  I 
heard  that  father  intended  to  marry  again.  He 
had  become  engaged  to  a  42-year-old  widow.  I 


130  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

knew  at  once  that  the  woman  had  her  eye  on  father's 
money.  /  bought  a  revolver  and,  I  tell  you  frankly : 
/  should  have  killed  either  the  woman  or  my  father 
if  there  had  been  any  marriage.  Perhaps  I  would 
have  done  away  with  both,  for  I  was  determined  to 
protect  mother's  memory  against  this  insult  and 
shame.  I  went  to  that  woman's  house  and  gave  her 
such  a  warning  that  the  engagement  was  soon  given 
up.  I  told  that  shameless  adventuress:  'You  will 
never  reach  the  altar  alive;  that  I  swear  solemnly 
on  mother's  memory!'  I  was  fully  determined  to 
shoot  them  both.  You  can  appreciate  how  excited 
I  was. 

"After  that  father  avoided  me  and  my  sisters.  But 
the  proposed  marriage  did  not  take  place, — I  had 
accomplished  that  much.  I  went  no  longer  to  his 
house  when  he  had  suddenly  a  light  stroke  and  was 
forced  to  appeal  to  us  children.  Then  we  had  a 
complete  family  reconciliation  and  since  that  time 
I  have  again  my  father.  Now  I  see  him  daily,  we 
children  take  turns  in  looking  after  him." 

"Have  you  no  feeling  of  guilt  and  did  you  never 
think  that  your  father  fell  ill  because  you  wished 
it?  Did  you  not  want  him  to  be  so  crippled  and 
reduced  to  your  care  that  he  should  be  able  no 
longer  to  carry  on?'* 

"I  don't  feel  guilty  and  I  have  no  regrets.  Only 
satisfaction.  ...  I  wished  it  to  be  that  way  and  it 
has  come  out  as  I  wished.  For  now  I  have  once 


Jealousy  of  the  Father  181 

more  a  father  of  whom  I  need  not  be  ashamed.  But 
you  must  not  think  that  I  was  jealous  on  my  own 
account.  I  only  felt  myself  the  representative  of 
my  mother." 

"You  are  not  jealous  of  your  sister?" 
"Yes  .  .  .  when    father    is    very    demonstrative 
with  her,  I  feel  the  same  wild  jealousy  come  over 
me,  but  I  control  myself  .  .  ." 

Here  we  see  jealousy  rising  out  of  an  incestuous 
wish  first  directed  upon  a  man,  then  transferred  to 
the  whole  environment.  This  transference  of  jeal- 
ousy to  every  one  serves  more  effectively  to  cover  the 
genuine  jealousy  of  the  father.  The  death  of  the 
mother  left  this  young  woman  in  a  critical  position. 
Obviously  her  wish  as  a  child  was:  "When  mother 
dies  I  will  marry  father."  A  wish  which  so  many 
girls  entertain  and  even  openly  express.  With  the 
death  of  the  mother  the  new  situation  presented  it- 
self. A  place  close  to  father  was  vacated  and  now 
other  women  filled  it.  The  old  father's  behavior 
showed  that  he  was  still  a  man.  But  one  thing  stood 
against  this  fancy:  her  husband.  So  long  as  he 
lived  she  could  not  go  to  live  with  her  father.  Her 
husband's  illness  brought  matters  prospectively 
nearer  to  an  issue.  The  physician  had  declared 
that  he  could  not  live  long,  his  heart  trouble  was 
serious.  She  might  yet  be  free!  Her  agitation  ex- 
plains a  number  of  peculiar  dreams  she  had.  She 


132  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

dreamed  repeatedly  of  quarreling  with  her  husband 
and  of  striking  him.  Several  times  already  she  has 
beaten  him  up  and  she  has  even  shot  him  in  her 
dreams.  She  is  also  unfair  to  the  child,  turning 
against  it  with  hatred  on  slightest  provocation. 

We  see  that  the  jealousy  of  the  husband  also  has 
the  role  of  legitimizing  a  hatred  which  has  its  roots 
in  other  causes.  For  she  confesses  that  during  her 
fits  of  jealousy,  when  she  thinks  that  her  husband 
is  unfaithful,  she  feels  a  bitter  hatred  against  him 
and  could  murder  him.  .  .  .  The  husband  is  in  the 
way,  her  hatred  corresponds  to  the  idea  that  he  is 
a  hindrance.  During  the  night  the  hatred  breaks 
forth  but  during  the  waking  hours  it  is  rationalized 
as  due  to  jealousy.  For  she  admits  that  she  has 
really  never  fully  loved  her  husband.  Her  affection 
goes  to  her  father.  She  imagines  that  she  is  fight- 
ing for  the  preservation  of  her  mother's  pure  mem- 
ory; that  furnishes  an  ethical  cover  and  masks  the 
true  motives. 

The  relationship  of  this  jealousy  to  homosexual- 
ity is  interesting.  It  furnishes  an  excellent  proof 
of  our  findings  concerning  homosexuality.  One 
must  bear  in  mind,  first  of  all,  that  many  factors 
contribute  in  this  instance  to  bring  about  the  re- 
gression to  the  infantile  level:  her  husband's  seri- 
ous illness,  his  relative  impotence  and  abstinence, 
her  mother's  illness,  the  father's  change  to  a  devil- 
may-care  attitude,  showing  her  that  one  may  change 


Hatred  133 

even  in  late  years,  and  that  it  is  never  too  late  fully 
to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  love.  Her  homosexuality  was 
always  ready  to  break  forth  in  her.  She  identified 
herself  with  her  father  looking  at  women  through 
his  eyes.  She  had  protected  herself  at  first  by  a 
'passionate  love  for  her  husband  and  minor  various 
trivial  homosexual  traits  of  her  childhood  were  thus 
readily  overcome.  Her  swing  to  heterosexuality 
was  very  successful  with  the  aid  of  her  husband. 
Her  homosexuality  was  repressed,  only  to  reappear 
at  the  beginning  of  the  menopause, — woman's  criti- 
cal age.  The  involutive  processes  taking  place  in 
the  genital  glands,  and  the  general  physical  changes 
in  woman  at  the  time  play  a  certain  role  in  that 
connection.  Her  husband's  impotence  and  the 
friend's  exciting  example  of  her  attractive  friend, 
with  whom  she  herself  was  secretly  in  love,  again 
roused  her  homosexual  feelings,  though  the  atti- 
tude showed  itself  only  under  the  guise  of  jealousy. 
But  the  father's  conduct,  since  her  father  was  the 
deepest  cause  of  her  aversion  against  man,  was 
what  really  made  her  lose  her  balance.  She  might 
have  become  an  urlind,  had  her  father  remained  the 
old,  kindly,  bland  and  quiet  gentleman.  But  since 
he  abandoned  the  mask  after  the  death  of  the 
mother,  he  roused  all  the  daughter's  evil  instincts. 
Not  only  the  infantile  erotic  predisposition  but  the 
infantile  criminal  tendencies  as  well.  In  her  dreams 
she  murdered  her  husband  who  prevented  her  from 


134  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

turning  entirely  to  her  father  and  fulfill  an  in- 
fantile wish  to  become  her  father's  wife.  She  also 
repeatedly  killed  the  children  and  her  beloved 
friends.  This  woman  during  her  critical  period 
displayed  not  only  the  craving  for  love  but  also  the 
aboriginal  emotion,  the  primordial  stuff,  out  of 
which  everything  beautiful  and  great  has  evolved: 
hatred. 

Hatred  against  the  other  sex  and  against  her 
rivals,  hatred  against  the  children  whom  she  could 
have  killed  when  anger  seized  her  soul.  .  .  . 

74.  This  is  the  case  of  a  30-year-old  woman, 
victim  of  a  remarkable  form  of  jealousy.  She  is 
jealous  of  her  home,  watching  over  it  like  one  might 
watch  and  protect  a  beloved.  She  has  an  older 
sister  who  has  been  married  for  five  years  past  and 
lives  outside  Vienna.  That  sister  was  more  to  her 
than  her  mother  or  any  other  friend.  She  looked 
upon  her  as  a  second  mother,  confided  all  her  se- 
crets in  her  and  allowed  herself  to  be  guided  and 
advised  by  her  at  every  step.  She  was  supremely 
happy  in  her  companionship  and  desired  nothing 
better.  She  loved  only  that  one  sister, — towards 
the  other  members  of  the  family  she  was  more  or 
less  indifferent.  Suddenly  the  family  decided  to 
marry  off  that  sister  and  an  aunt  brought  a  suitor 
to  the  house.  She  found  that  suitor  ridiculous, 
unsuitable  for  the  sister,  and  fought  with  all  her 


Jealousy  of  the  Home  135 

limited  powers  against  the  match.  But  the  mother 
showed  the  greatest  eagerness  for  an  early  mar- 
riage. Then  it  happened  that  the  girl  awoke  sud- 
denly in  the  night.  Like  a  thunder  a  terrible 
thought  flashed  through  her  mind:  "You  must  do 
away  with  your  mother!"  (It  was  the  last  desperate 
soul  cry  in  the  attempt  to  hold  on  forever  to  her 
sister.  The  mother  was  the  original  cause  of  her 
misfortune.  She  could  not  live  without  the  sister.) 
The  thought  so  shocked  her,  the  subsequent  regrets 
over  it  kept  her  in  a  very  depressed  mood.  She 
developed  a  severe  neurosis,  consisting  chiefly  of  a 
series  of  punishments  and  expiations  to  which  she 
deliberately  subjected  herself.  And  shortly  after 
that  she  developed  her  jealousy  of  the  home.  Her 
sister  lived  outside  Vienna  at  a  small  place  in  Hun- 
gary and  occasionally  came  to  Vienna.  It  was 
natural  that  she  should  find  a  place  in  the  com- 
fortable old  home  of  seven  rooms  which  the  family 
occupied  alone.  But  the  girl  could  not  tolerate  the 
sister's  presence  in  the  house.  She  became  depressed, 
began  to  cry,  found  that  the  furniture  was  being 
abused  and  ruined,  could  not  sleep  nights,  and 
daily  asked  her  sister :  "How  long  are  you  going  to 
stay  in  town?"  so  that  the  sister  cut  her  visit  as 
short  as  possible. 

This  went  on  for  several  years.  Year  after  year 
the  sister  brought  a  new  baby  into  the  world  and 
she  could  not  tolerate  her  sister's  children  in  the 


136  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

old  home.  Every  time  a  visit  with  the  children 
made  her  so  seriously  ill  that  finally  the  mother 
begged  the  sister  to  find  some  other  rooming  place. 
The  children  were  hardly  tolerated  in  the  house; 
they  had  to  be  kept  in  one  certain  room.  The  girl 
was  always  afraid  that  something  in  the  house  would 
be  ruined.  That  this  was  not  jealousy  of  her 
mother  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  did  not  affect 
her  to  have  the  mother  visit  the  sister.  In  fact  she 
joined  the  mother  readily  on  such  visits  and  be- 
haved very  pleasantly  and  quietly  at  her  sister's. 
Only  when  it  was  a  question  of  the  old  home  she 
became  a  storming  avenging  angel.  Naturally  she 
also  wanted  to  have  her  mother  to  herself.  Her 
boundless  jealousy  of  the  sister  had  apparently 
disappeared  .altogether  and  had  switched  over  to 
the  old  home  where  the  two  had  been  once  so  su- 
premely happy.  Thoughts  of  hatred  against  the 
sister's  children  and  phantasies  about  doing  away 
with  them,  also  occurred.  She  thought  of  a  subtle 
poison  that  could  be  given  with  the  food  in  her 
*home.  Perhaps  she  feared  the  presence  of  her  sis- 
ter and  sister's  children  in  the  house  for  that  very 
reason  and  the  fear  may  have  been  a  protection 
against  her  criminal  tendencies. 

She  had  loved  truly  but  one  person:  her  sister. 
The  latter  was  everything  in  the  world  to  her.  She 
called  her  the  second  mother,  her  friend,  her  be- 
loved. Her  first  thought  when  she  awoke  in  the 


Fixation  on  the  Sister  137 

morning  was  of  her  sister,  the  endeavor  to  please 
her  filled  her  life,  and  the  last  thing  she  did  before 
going  to  bed  was  to  offer  a  prayer  for  her  sister. 
She  was  good  and  upright  because  she  loved  her 
sister  and  because  she  felt  happy  that  her  sister 
gave  all  her  spare  time  up  to  her.  She  was  trained 
by  her,  they  went  on  walks  together,  her  sister 
trained  her  heart.  She  was  supremely  happy  and 
wished  nothing  more  than  always  so  to  live  beside 
her  sister. 

Then  came  the  engagement  and  her  sister's  mar- 
riage. Her  heart  bled  at  that  terrible  act  of  trea- 
son and  her  feelings  hardened.  She  hated  every- 
thing, she  was  against  the  whole  world:  against 
the  mother  who  instigated  the  match,  against  the 
other  sisters,  who  had  also  favored  it,  against  the 
brothers  who  did  not  oppose  it.  Only  an  old  nurse 
woman  who  had  always  stood  by  her  and  was  her 
staff  of  support,  exceptionally  escaped  her  hatred 
remaining  a  sort  of  solitary  ray  of  affection.  But 
the  house  was  filled  with  memories  of  the  beloved 
sister.  The  pieces  of  furniture  were  mute  but  elo- 
quent witnesses  of  her  former  happy  love  state. 
They  should  not  be  profaned  by  the  presence  of  the 
unfaithful,  changed  sister!  She  hated  the  children, 
wishing  they  were  dead  and  at  the  same  time  she 
was  afraid  she  might  hurt  them.  Two  souls 
struggled  in  her  breast:  one  a  criminal,  the  other 
ethical.  The  sight  of  the  children  was  repulsive 


138  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

to  her.  They  bore  the  traits  of  the  sister  and  of 
the  man  who  had  stolen  her  away. 

Her  whole  possessions  consisted  now  of  her  mem- 
ory and  the  household  goods,  the  old  rooms  fur- 
nished the  necessary  real  background  for  her  phan- 
tasies. "Memory  is  the  only  paradise  from  which 
we  cannot  be  driven  out,"  said  Jean  Paul.  Her 
residence  became  to  her  a  temple  of  memory,  a 
sanctuary  where  every  piece  of  furniture  re- 
called the  past  happiness  in  which  she  still  pro- 
jected herself.  For  her  days  passed  in  dreaming 
and  weaving  of  fancies.  She  idled  away  sweet  hours 
and  days  continually  dreaming  only  of  her  sister. 
Criminal  fancies  of  poisoning  all  the  others  finally 
led  her,  by  way  of  punishment,  to  fear  poisoning. 
She  quit  eating  anything  at  the  table,  as  she  form- 
erly did.  She  suspected  poison  in  every  food.  She 
began  to  vomit  after  her  meals.  She  kept  away 
from  everybody  except  one  woman  friend  who  stuck 
to  her  faithfully  and  who  shared  her  revulsion  of 
feeling  against  the  sister.  She  lived  continually  in 
fear  she  might  kill  her  mother  because  the  impera- 
tive (kill  her!)  kept  cropping  up  all  the  time.  She 
avoided  men.  All  attempts  to  interest  her  in  some 
man  eventually  to  get  her  married  off  proved  fruit- 
less. .  .  . 

The  home  was  her  temple  which  must  not  be 
soiled.  All  her  devotion  and  her  affection  were  cen- 
tered daily  on  that  spot. 


The  Savior  Phantasy  139 

The  case  approaches  closely  the  realm  of  psy- 
chosis. 

After  a  course  of  psychoanalysis  lasting  about 
one  half  year  she  improved  a  great  deal.  She  was 
able  to  tolerate  her  sister's  visits,  was  free  of  'the 
obsessive  thought  of  killing  her  mother,  was  again 
able  to  eat  any  food  and  her  "nervous"  vomiting 
ceased  altogether.  A  very  favorable  offer  of  mar- 
riage she  rejected.  She  still  avoided  men  as  reso- 
lutely as  ever. 

We  turn  to  the  next  case. 

75.  Mr.  R.  T.,  a  well-known  poet,  only  31  years 
of  age,  is  also  a  victim  of  morbid  jealousy  and  has 
already  experienced  very  serious  conflicts  on  that 
account.  He  was  always  fixed  on  his  family  and 
lived  exclusively  for  his  parents  and  other  members 
of  the  immediate  family  circle.  He  clung  particu- 
larly to  the  mother,  with  worshipful  affection.  At 
18  years  of  age  he  began  to  fall  in  love  with  all  his 
friends'  "girls."  He  even  fell  in  love  with  a  street 
woman  whom  his  best  friend  often  visited.  Already 
at  that  time  he  showed  a  strong  jealous  streak  and 
he  asked  that  woman  to  give  up  her  unfortunate 
way  of  living.  (That  is  a  typical  experience  with 
young  fellows  who  are  fixed  on  the  mother.  They 
seek  out  a  polar  obverse  to  their  mother's  character 
and  associate  with  that  person  a  fancy  of  being 
the  savior.  The  savior  phantasy  covers,  accord" 


140  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

ing  to  my  investigation,  merely  the  wish  to  save 
one's  self.  .  .  .)  He  was  soon  through  with  this 
love  affair,  although  it  had  broken  out  with  great 
passion,  and  had  to  leave  Berlin  because  he  could 
not  get  along  with  his  parents.  He  always  quar- 
reled with  his  mother  and  that  interfered  with  his 
creative  work. 

Meanwhile  he  became  very  famous  and  was  earn- 
ing a  very  comfortable  income.  He  fell  into  the 
habit  of  spending  his  nights  at  restaurants  and 
other  amusement  places  in  the  company  of  friends 
and  of  returning  home  in  the  early  morning  hours. 
He  woke  up  at  noon  and  wrote  a  few  hours  during 
the  afternoon, — that  was  his  only  work. 

At  a  certain  cabaret  he  became  acquainted  with 
a  girl  who  was  in  charge  of  the  bar.  She  was  35 
years  of  age  at  the  time,  but  gave  her  age  as  28, 
and  in  fact  looked  much  younger  than  she  was.  He 
began  having  relations  with  that  girl,  looking  upon 
the  affair  as  a  trivial  adventure,  at  first.  He  knew 
that  she  was  being  supported  by  a  Count  but  this 
did  not  prevent  him  from  allowing  her  to  choose 
him  for  her  "heart  love."  He  was  tremendously 
flattered  that  this  girl,  or  perhaps  we  would  better 
say,  this  woman,  preferred  him  to  all  others  and 
loved  him  so  disinterestedly.  His  affection  grew 
daily,  also  her  love  for  him.  She  finally  gave  up 
her  Count  and  told  our  young  man  that  she 
loved  him  only,  and  would  never  again  give  her- 


The  Past  141 

self  to  any  other  man.  It  made  him  very  happy; 
they  rented  lodgings  together.  But  soon  he  re- 
quested her  to  give  up  her  position  at  the  bar,  be- 
cause there  she  came  into  too  close  contact  with 
men.  She  did  that  very  willingly.  Before  they 
had  taken  up  lodgings  together  he  had  asked  her 
to  give  him  a  complete  history  of  her  past  life.  She 
told  him  a  very  romantic  life  history  and  mentioned 
four  men  who  had  had  sexual  relations  with  her. 
(As  a  matter  of  fact  dozens  of  men  had  cohabited, 
with  her.) 

He  was  madly  jealous  of  these  men.  She  had  to 
repeat  to  him  the  story  of  her  past  over  and  over, 
then  he  became  angry,  also  sexually  very  excited, 
figured  how  he  would  revenge  himself  on  his  rivals, 
how  he  would  beat  them,  box  their  ears  or  shoot 
them  down  in  a  duel  or  cut  them  up  with  his  sword; 
his  rage  against  the  unfortunate  woman  grew  all  the 
time,  he  scolded  her,  called  her  every  bad  name, 
threatened  to  leave  her  at  once,  struck  her,  and  in 
the  end  had  intercourse  with  her,  experiencing  pow- 
erful orgasm. 

Before  long  he  began  to  be  troubled  with  the 
uncertainty  whether  she  had  told  the  whole  truth. 
He  investigated  her  past,  looking  up  questionable 
episodes.  A  detective  was  engaged  to  watch  her 
during  his  absence  and  to  look  up  her  past.  The 
fellow  quickly  picked  up  the  gossip  of  the  neigh- 
borhood and  reported  the  talk  as  true.  Besides 


142  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

the  adventures  frankly  confessed  to  him  a  number 
of  other  liaisons  were  traced,  which  the  woman  had 
failed  to  mention.  She  also  had  to  admit  that  she 
was  older  than  she  had  held  herself  out  to  be. 

There  followed  years  of  terrible  torture  and  con- 
tinual torture.  First  thing  in  the  morning  he  be- 
gan to  wonder  who  else  among  his  acquaintances  or 
among  strangers  may  have  possessed  the  woman. 
He  questioned  her  persistently,  his  rage  growing, 
he  made  her  take  a  solemn  oath,  then  he  struck  her 
and  tried  to  extract  from  her  a  forced  confession. 
In  vain  she  implored  him,  begging  him  to  realize 
that  she  was  not  responsible  for  her  past,  that  she 
did  not  know  him  at  the  time,  that  she  was  but  a 
child  when  she  already  had  to  support  the  whole 
household  and  a  sick  mother;  nothing  helped,  he 
was  implacable. 

When  his  investigations  led  accidentally  to  the 
discovery  of  another  man  who  had  not  previously 
figured  in  the  list  of  her  adventures  he  threw  a  glass 
at  her  head  and  hurt  her  so  seriously  that  she  was 
ill  several  weeks.  He  sought  quarrels  with  her 
former  sweethearts  and  challenged  them  on  the  least 
provocation,  wounding  'several  in  duel,  as  he  was 
an  excellent  duellist. 

Finally  the  lovers  separated.  The  woman  could 
stand  it  no  longer  and  threatened  to  take  her  life. 
But  in  a  few  weeks  she  fell  ill  and  had  him  called 
to  her  sick  bed.  Another  time  the  reverse  occurred. 


The  Past  143 

In  short — the  pair  could  not  keep  away  from  each 
other.  It  was  the  last  love  of  this  woman  who  had 
lost  her  early  first  charms.  Through  this  love  she 
hoped  to  save  herself  and  either  marry  or  attain  the 
quasi-respectability  of  a  similar  state.  But  he  had 
entered  this  relationship  lightly  as  he  had  done  in 
similar  cases  and  he  now  suddenly  found  himself 
entangled  in  a  tight  net  which  isolated  him  from 
the  world.  For  he  did  not  dare  to  go  out  with  her. 
He  always  had  the  unpleasant  thought  he  might 
meet  one  of  her  former  lovers, — he  even  watched 
the  faces  of  all  passers-by  to  see  whether  they  did 
not  laugh  at  him. 

He  had  a  friend  who  was  very  devoted  to  him. 
That  friend  hated  his  partner,  because  she  had 
robbed  him  of  his  best  friend.  That  friend  was  his 
complete  slave.  He  became  the  poor  woman's  guar- 
dian. But  the  friend  had  a  peculiar  passion.  He 
desired  to  possess  all  women  who  belonged  to  his 
friends.  (This  is  a  transparent  homosexual  mask 
as  I  have  already  pointed  out  in  the  present  work.) 
Therefore  he  made  love  also  to  this  woman,  who 
planned  her  revenge  by  apparently  accepting  his 
advances  and  when  she  had  in  her  hands  proofs  of 
the  fellow's  intention,  she  turned  the  proofs  over  to 
her  beloved.  A  terrible  scene  ensued,  including  re- 
volver shots,  but  fortunately  no  one  was  hurt. 

Next  he  began  to  torment  the  woman  regarding 
her  relations  with  that  friend.  He  obviously  looked 


144  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

for  an  excuse  to  break  with  her,  and  solemnly  re- 
solved to  leave  her  for  good  if  he  should  discover 
the  least  thing  out  of  the  way  in  her  conduct.  But 
she  was  so  cowed  by  his  snares  that  she  did  not 
dare  to  go  out  on  the  street  alone.  .  .  . 

The  motives  of  his  conduct  are  clear.  We  have 
here  a  pronounced  case  of  homosexuality  manifest- 
ing itself  as  jealousy  of  other  men.  The  thought 
that  this  or  that  other  man  had  possessed  her  is 
precisely  what  constituted  the  woman's  highest 
charm  in  his  eyes.  When  the  man  declares  that  he 
would  have  been  happy  if  he  could  have  met  this 
woman  in  her  virgin  purity,  he  is  mistaken.  He 
will  always  seek  the  street  walker,  the  disreputable 
woman.  She  is  the  more  charming  because  she  is 
older  than  he.  For  he  is  longing  for  the  mother 
Imago  and  therefore  he  is  most  happy,  too,  when 
she  mothers  him.  Like  most  homosexuals  he  is 
strongly  attached  to  the  mother.  But  unlike  the 
overt  homosexuals  he  has  not  carried  out  his  flight 
all  the  way  to  the  male,  but  has  fled,  instead,  to 
the  puella  publica,  the  dishonored  woman.  .  .  . 

He  would  like  to  get  rid  of  this  woman.  But  he 
has  become  more  deeply  enmeshed  with  her  through 
his  feeling  of  guilt  on  account  of  the  wound  he  had 
caused  her  and  which  had  left  an  ugly  scar  on  her 
face.  Since  he  wishes  she  were  dead  in  order  to  be 
free  of  her,  his  conscience  indissolubly  binds  him 
tenfold  to  his  victim.  His  criminal  fancies  centeif 


Criminal  Fancies  145 

continually  on  the  poor  tortured  woman  and  her 
former  lovers.  Under  the  mask  of  his  jealousy  he 
gives  free  rein  to  his  criminal  fancies.  In  addi- 
tion, like  most  artists  he  is  very  superstitious  and 
believes  that  the  woman  had  brought  him  good  luck. 
Since  he  has  her,  he  has  created  his  best  work  and 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  strong  excitement,  he 
has  achieved  his  best  results.  It  thus  seems  that 
the  relationship  is  fixed  for  life  and  he  may  never 
be  able  to  give  it  up.  .  .  . 

Naturally  there  are  also  other  forms  of  jealousy. 
But  when  it  appears  in  this  pathologic  form,  it  is 
never  difficult  to  trace  the  homosexual  factor  and 
with  it  the  criminal  tendencies  back  of  it.  The  last 
case  given  above  is  particularly  convincing  and  the 
friend's  behavior  very  characteristic. 

Our  subject  feels  impelled  to  think  of  the  woman's 
lovers  driven  thereto  by  his  homosexual  longing. 
He  thinks  of  them  in  a  roundabout  way,  so  to  speak, 
through  and  around  the  woman.  Jealousy  enables 
him  to  dwell  on  the  picture  of  the  naked  man;  he 
thinks  of  the  phallus  of  his  rival,  compares  it  with 
his  own ;  he  drinks  in  the  bliss  which  his  beloved  must 
have  tasted  through  another  man;  he  places  him- 
self entirely  in  the  woman's  role,  so  that,  in  his 
fancy,  he  is  the  woman.  He  hates  the  woman  in 
himself  and  transfers  that  hatred  upon  his  second 
self,  his  beloved.  He  hates  the  woman  also  because 
she  cannot  successfully  substitute  the  man  for  him. 


146  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Before  that  liaison  he  spent  his  nights  in  cafes  and 
wine  rooms  in  the  exclusive  company  of  men.  He 
no  longer  does  that.  He  does  not  leave  his  beloved 
alone  any  more,  thus  lacking  the  excitation  of  manly 
company.  He  tortures  his  mother  as  he  does  his 
beloved  whenever  he  goes  home  for  a  few  days.  He 
loves  her  so  dearly  that  he  cannot  live  through  a 
day  without  calling  her  up  from  Vienna  all  the  way 
to  Berlin,  where  she  lives,  to  talk  to  her.  If  he  is 
somewhere  where  he  cannot  be  reached  by  telephone 
his  mother  must  wire  him  daily.  It  is  very  interest- 
ing how  this  love  of  the  mother  covers  the  deeper 
love  of  the  father.  He  plays  the  love  of  his  mother 
as  his  trump  card  against  the  father.  He  flees  from 
the  sexual  love  of  the  father,  while  yet  he  has  been 
repeatedly  conscious  of  his  incest  phantasies  to- 
wards the  mother.  He  always  adds  to  his  mother 
Imago  some  kind  of  a  father.  He  was  most  jealous 
of  an  attorney,  already  grey  haired  and  a  married 
man,  who  therefore  stood  as  a  symbol  of  the  father. 
He  has  even  gone  so  far  as  to  look  up  that  man 
to  demand  an  explanation  from  him,  thereby  mak- 
ing himself  ridiculous.  His  jealousy  was  particu- 
larly suitable  as  a  means  for  his  latent  sadism  to 
become  manifest.  It  enabled  him  to  dwell  on  blood- 
curdling phantasies,  it  made  it  reasonable  for  him 
to  injure  his  beloved  sweetheart,  and  to  justify  that 
insane  deed  as  due  to  excess  of  love.  The  analysis 
brought  about  a  distinct  improvement  in  the  situ- 


Sensitiveness  to  Noise  147 

ation.  He  joined  again  his  comrades  at  the  public 
houses  and  peace  was  seldom  disturbed  after  that. 
How  difficult  it  is  at  times  to  ferret  out  the  homo- 
sexual root  of  jealousy  in  such  situations  is  shown 
by  the  next  case,  in  which  jealousy  is  again  masked 
before  the  subject's  consciousness. 

76.  Miss  K.  N.  consults  me  for  a  peculiar 
trouble  about  her  sleep.  She  is  extremely  sensitive 
to  noise.  She  lives  with  her  sister  who  keeps  a  very 
small  apartment  where  one  little  room  is  rented  to 
a  gentleman.  Her  nervousness  consists  of  uncon- 
trollable reflections,  as  soon  as  evening  begins,  about 
the  lodger's  return  home.  If  he  returns  and  goes 
to  sleep  early,  she  herself  is  soon  quiet  and  sleeps 
well  through  the  night.  But  if  he  is  away,  she  can- 
not sleep.  She  may  fall  into  slumber  but. sleeps  so 
lightly  that  she  is  awake  at  the  least  noise  until 
she  hears  the  lodger  return  at  last  to  his  room. 
Then  a  terrible  feeling  of  dread  comes  over  her  and 
her  heart  begins  to  beat  fast.  Other  noises  also 
seem  to  disturb  her.  The  house  in  which  she  lives 
is  near  a  railroad  track.  But  the  trains  do  not 
disturb  her,  nor  the  electric  cars.  But  voices  in 
the  next  room,  and  the  sound  of  steps  on  the  floor 
above,  keep  her  awake. 

One  would  suppose  that  she  wishes  the  lodger 
would  come  to  her  and  is  afraid  of  that.  But  she 
insists  that  the  gentleman  is  indifferent  to  her,  she 


148  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

would  not  kiss  him  if  he  gave  her  millions  in  money 
for  it.  She  is  an  unlucky  person.  She  will  un- 
doubtedly have  to  give  up  her  sister's  lodging.  She 
has  already  had  a  similar  experience.  She  was  the 
mother's  favorite,  petted  and  fondled  in  every  way. 
Her  mother  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis  and  lost  con- 
sciousness. After  she  came  to  herself,  she  clung 
to  the  delusion  that  her  favorite  child  had  turned 
untrue  to  her  and  began  terribly  to  torture  the  poor 
child.4  She  reproached  her  with  occurrences  wholly 
imaginary,  scolded  her  as  being  cold,  selfish  and  in- 

*The  flaring  up  of  jealousy  in  old  age  during  exhaustive 
conditions,  an  extraordinarily  common  occurrence,  seems  to  be 
determined  partly  by  endocrinic  disorders  and  partly  by  the 
awakening  of  infantile  predispositions.  We  also  find  frequent 
mention  of  the  fact  that  morbid  jealousy  manifests  itself 
after  a  prolonged  convalescence  in  bed.  Some  physicians  are 
inclined  to  trace  the  condition  back  to  an  intoxication.  It 
seems  to  me  more  likely  that  the  unusual  opportunity  of 
mulling  things  over  in  the  mind  is  more  likely  the  cause.  We 
must  also  take  into  consideration  that  facing  closely  the  pos- 
sibility of  death  all  ungratified  wishes,  including  the  homo- 
sexual, once  more  flare  up,  urgently  pressing  for  gratification. 
This  alone  may  lead  to  the  flaring  up  also  of  paraphilias  and 
homosexual  tendencies  during  old  age,  when  it  must  also  be 
considered  that  on  account  of  organic  changes  in  the  brain 
cortex  the  inhibitions  are  also  weakened.  I  have  repeatedly 
noticed  that  nursing  care  by  a  person  of  the  same  sex  as  the 
patient  also  plays  a  certain  r61e.  I  have  even  seen  directly  as 
a  consequence  of  prolonged  invalidism  the  development  of  a 
homosexual  feeling-attitude  towards  the  nursing  person,  for 
instance,  the  flaring  up  of  a  passion  for  mother  or  sister. 
Regressions  back  into  childhood  frequently  occur  after  infec- 
tious diseases.  All  the  various  infantile  attitudes  manifest 
themselves.  Psychosexual  infantilism,  a  subject  which  will  be 
fully  treated  in  a  forthcoming  volume  of  our  "Disorders  of 
the  Emotions  and  the  Instincts,"  is  most  likely  to  break  out 
particularly  after  a  period  of  illness  when  one  feels  one's 
self  again  a  child. 


Sensitiveness  to  Noise  149 

different.  The  girl  could  do  nothing  and  finally  had 
to  leave  the  house  and  go  to  live  with  strangers. 
She  returned  home  only  after  the  death  of  the 
mother.  Meanwhile  the  father  had  also  passed 
away.  The  two  girls  remained  alone  in  the  world 
and  now  only  had  each  other.  But  things  were  at 
sixes  and  sevens  between  them  and  they  seldom  had 
a  quiet  hour  between  themselves. 

At  last  the  sister  became  actually  abusive.  She 
begged  her  sister  "with  uplifted  hands"  to  dismiss 
the  lodger.  She  was  willing  to  cover  the  room  rent 
out  of  her  own  pocket.  She  could  not  stand  it  any 
longer.  She  could  not  sleep  nights  and  was  going 
physically  and  mentally  to  pieces.  But  the  sister 
became  wild  and  started  to  scold  her,  using  the  same 
terrible  terms  which  she  had  heard  her  mother  hurl 
at  her.  They  rushed  at  each  other's  hair.  She  was 
so  enraged  she  could  have  strangled  her  sister  at 
the  time. 

After  that  scene  she  came  again  to  me  in  despair. 
I  advised  her  to  move  out.  She  cannot  have  every- 
thing her  way  and  she  must  have  quiet.  But  what 
was  her  answer. 

"That  I  cannot  do.     I  cannot." 
"Why  not?     Does  not  your  sister  let  you?*' 
"Oh  no,  it  isn't  that  .  .  .  only  yesterday  sister 
said  to  me:  'Move  out.    I  will  cherish  the  day  when 
I  will  get  rid  of  you.'  " 
"And  you  stand  for  that?" 


150  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

"I  cannot  move  out  because  .  .  ." 

"You  are  in  love  with  your  sister  and  cannot  live 
without  her." 

"That's  it.  I  cannot  live  without  sister  and  even 
her  scoldings  and  her  angry  words  I  will  put  up 
with  rather  than  stand  a  day  without  seeing  her." 

"Still  you  will  have  to  do  it.  ...  The  conditions 
are  unhealthy. n 

"Yes  .  .  .  Only  yesterday  I  said  to  sister :  */  am 
going  to  move  out  and  you  can  keep  your  rooms  and 
do  with  your  lodger  whatever  you  want.  I  won't 
protect  you  any  more.1 ' 

Thus  it  came  out  clearly  that  she  was  watching 
every  night,  whether  the  lodger  was  going  to  the 
sister  and  that  she  dreaded  moving  out  because  she 
knew  that  the  sister  would  then  be  alone  with  the 
lodger  in  the  house  and  he  could  go  to  her  every 
night.  I  made  this  clear  to  her  but  she  did  not  seem 
to  see  it  at  first.  She  admitted  her  homosexual  love 
for  the  sister.  .  .  . 

She  moved  to  other  quarters.  It  was  a  quiet 
little  room  over  a  garden  in  the  home  of  an  elderly 
woman  living  alone.  But  here  also  she  could  not 
sleep.  The  old  woman  snored  and  she  could  not 
stand  that.  Then  the  ticking  of  a  clock  disturbed 
her  continually  and  kept  her  from  falling  asleep, 
the  striking  of  the  hours  even  waking  her  up.  She 
thus  continually  sought  everywhere  for  the  reasons 
of  her  unrest  which  were  only  in  herself.  The  pal- 


Fixation  on  Sister  151 

pitation  of  her  heart  (symbolic  substitute  for  it: 
the  clock)  gave  her  no  peace.  She  looked  for  other 
quarters,  kept  looking  and  looking  but  found  no 
place  so  satisfactory  and  quiet  as  the  sister's  lodg- 
ing. She  went  there  every  evening  returning  to  her 
outside  lodgings  late  in  the  night.  She  took  advan- 
tage of  a  light  illness  of  her  sister's  as  an  excuse 
and  returned  to  her  little  room,  again  shivering  with 
dread  whenever  the  lodger  was  late  coming  home. 
Even  after  she  chose  for  herself  a  lover  who  gave 
her  complete  sexual  gratification  her  quiet  was  tem- 
porary. The  heterosexual  component  of  her  in- 
stincts drove  her  more  and  more  to  her  lover  trying 
to  forget  her  sister  in  his  arms.  But  she  succeeded 
only  intermittently  and  her  thoughts  kept  revolving 
again  and  again  between  her  sister  and  that  lodger. 
Finally  her  sister  gave  in  and  the  lodger  had  to 
move.  An  elderly  young  woman  became  the  new 
lodger.  Then  she  quieted  down  and  was  able  to 
sleep  once  more. 

It  is  interesting  that  nearly  all  narcotic  drugs 
not  only  proved  useless  but  made  her  worse.  She 
did  not  want  to  sleep  so  as  to  keep  watch  over  her 
sister's  virtue. 

As  in  all  the  cases  previously  mentioned,  here, 
too,  developments  led  to  overt  attitudes,  the  subject 
stood  on  the  brink  of  criminal  passional  deeds. 
Hatred  and  love  showed  intimate  relationships.  She 
was  also  afraid  of  murderers,  barricaded  the  doors 


152  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

and  shivered  at  every  little  noise.  That  was  the 
fear  of  her  own  criminal  thoughts.  Her  infantile 
criminal  tendencies  arose  with  her  infantile  love  for 
the  sister. 

This  case,  like  the  former,  illustrates  the  inner 
relations  between  jealousy,  homosexuality  and  sad- 
ism. For  during  her  fits  of  anger  she  entertained 
terrible  thoughts  of  revenge.  She  thought  of  burn- 
ing down  the  home;  of  killing  her  sister,  as  well  as 
herself,  by  turning  on  the  gas  in  the  room ;  she  tried 
to  secure  a  revolver,  supposedly  as  a  protection 
against  thieves.  Her  dreams  show  a  criminal  per- 
sonality in  sharp  contrast  to  her  customary  mild 
character.  Emotionally  the  criminal  in  her  was 
much  more  powerful  than  her  cultural  self,  she  could 
have  assaulted  her  sister  and  once  actually  drew  a 
knife.  After  such  emotional  outbreaks  she  crumpled 
and  became  again  the  quiet,  soft  girl,  beloved  of 
everybody  on  account  of  her  good  nature. 


IV 


JEALOUSY  AND  PARANOIA JEALOUSY  AS  PROJECTION 

OF     ONE'S     OWN     INADEQUACY — FREUD'S      RE- 
SEARCHES   ON     PARANOIA THE    INVESTIGATIONS 

OF    JULIUSBURGER THE    JEALOUSY    OF    A    PARA- 
NOIAC  JEALOUSY    DELUSION    OF    A    MERCHANT 

JEALOUSY  AND  ALCOHOLISM THE  EVOLUTION  OF 

MANKIND   FROM   BISEXUALITY  TO   MONOSEXUALITY 

METAMORPHOSIS      SEXUALIS      PARANOICA THE 

MONOTHEISM      OF       SEXUALITY JEALOUSY      AND 

CRIMINALITY. 


Die  Eifersucht  wird  immer  mit  der  Liebe  geboren 
dber  stirbt  nicht  immer  mit  ihr. 

— La  Rochefoucauld. 


IV 

Jealousy  always  arises  with  love  "but  does  not  al- 
ways die  out  with  it. 

— La  Rochefoucauld. 

It  is  very  striking  that  the  feeling  of  jealousy 
breaks  through  all  the  barriers  of  culture.  Extra- 
ordinarily frequent  are  suspicions  of  incest,1  of  ho- 
mosexuality, of  masturbation,  and  zoophily.  Wom- 
en accuse  their  husbands  of  relations  with  their 
daughter;  or  they  accuse  the  man  of  homosexual 
relations  with  a  friend.  Men  bring  similar  accusa- 
tions against  their  wives.  All  such  accusations 
are  projections  of  subjective  sexual  tendencies 
upon  the  object  of  their  jealousy.  Beaussart  (La 
Jalousie;  Annales  Psychiques,  vol.  LXXI,  1913), 
who  maintains  erroneously  that  morbid  jealousy  is 
more  frequent  among  men  than  among  women, 
brings  out  very  strongly  this  peculiarity  of  jealousy 
and  bases  it  on  the  absence  of  true  motivation.  But 
the  motivation  is  transparent  enough.  Among  the 
cases  reported  by  him  I  note  that  of  a  75-year-old 
woman  who  tortured  her  husband  to  death  with  her 

1  Cf.    Willy    Schmidt,    Inzestuuser    Eifvrsuchtficahn,    QrotJ 
Archiv,  vol.  LVII,  1914,  p.  257. 

155 


158  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

groundless  jealousy  and  who,  in  a  rage,  one  day, 
attacked  him  with  a  razor.  Jealousy  is  clearly  a 
rationalization  of  hatred,  it  harks  back  to  the  pri- 
mary egoistic  attitude  of  the  aboriginal  man.  The 
philetic  raw  sexuality  and  criminality  corresponds 
to  man's  primary  ontogenetic  attitude  towards  his 
environment. 

Other  jealous  persons  see  their  criminal  ten- 
dencies reflected  in  the  surroundings.  A  jealous  per- 
son has  the  hallucination  that  the  supposed  lover 
of  his  wife  intends  to  knife  him.  In  this  manner  the 
killing  of  the  lover  looms  up  as  a  logical  necessity. 
Whereas  men  make  use  of  swords,  revolvers,  whips, 
tortures  and  shackles,  woman's  criminality  breaks 
out  in  such  jealousy  acts  as  anonymous  letters,  libel, 
poisoning,  castration  and  throwing  of  acid  (Beaus- 
sart). 

In  many  cases  the  barrier  between  jealousy  and 
insanity,  between  neurosis  and  psychosis,  is  hardly 
to  be  distinguished.  Often  jealousy  is  the  first 
symptom  of  paranoia. 

The  next  two  cases  have  also  pronounced  para- 
noiac features.  We  are  indebted  to  Freud  for  his 
significant  contributions  to  our  understanding  of  the 
nature  of  paranoia,  or  paraphrenia,  as  Freud  terms 
the  condition.  In  his  fundamental  contribution, 
Psychoanalysche  Bemerkungen  uber  einen  auto- 
biographisch  beschriebenen  Fall  von  Paranoia 
(Sammlung  klemer  Schriften  zur  Neurosenlehre,  3rd 


Jealousy  and  Paranoia  157 

ed.,  Franz  Deuticke,  Leipzig  and  Vienna,  1913),  he 
has  shown  that  paranoiac  insanity  is  traceable  back 
to  the  repressed  homosexual  components  of  the  sex- 
ual instinct.  The  persecution  ideas  of  paranoiacs 
(by  men)  is  the  projection  outward  of  their  own 
thoughts.  The  subject  is  pursued  by  his  own  homo- 
sexual phantasies  and  out  of  those  fancies  he  con- 
structs his  notion  of  a  pursuer.  Love  is  transmuted 
by  the  subject  into  its  bipolar  opposite,  hatred. 
Freud  states  on  this  point : 

"  'I  do  not  love  him,  in  fact  I  hate  him.'  This 
contrary  attitude,  which  cannot  mean  anything  else 
in  the  unconscious  does  not  assume  that  form  in 
the  paranoiac's  consciousness.  The  mechanism  gov- 
erning the  formation  of  symptoms  in  paranoia  re- 
quires that  the  inner  apperception, — the  feeling  of 
subjection, — should  be  replaced  by  some  perception 
from  without.  The  proposition:  'in  fact  I  hate 
him,'  is  thus  changed  through  projection  into  an- 
other: 'he  hates  (pursues)  me  which  consequently 
justifies  me  in  hating  him.'  The  unconscious  feeling- 
motive  thus  appears  as  though  it  were  an  objective 
perception,  a  deduction: 

"  */  do  not  love  him,  in  fact  I  hate  him,  because  he 
pursues  me.' ' 

Observation  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  pursuer  is 
none  other  than  the  formerly  beloved  person. 

Freud  here  overlooks  entirely  the  relations  of 
paranoia  to  criminality.  Having  persistently  over- 


158  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

looked  thus  far  the  tremendous  significance  of  latent 
criminality  in  the  psychogenesis  of  neurosis  and  hav- 
ing emphasized  only  the  sexual  factors  underlying 
all  psychotic  and  nervous  manifestations,  he  ne- 
glects here  also  the  important  role  of  criminality  in 
the  dynamics  of  paranoia.  That  is  the  reason  why 
his  explanation  does  not  fit  all  cases.  For  there  is 
also  a  paranoia  which  stands  for  a  flight  from  crimi- 
nality, even  representing  a  rationalization  of  crimi- 
nal tendencies  without  any  homosexuality.  Such 
cases  are  exceptional  but  they  do  occur.  The  fear 
of  insanity  which  oppresses  so  many  neurotics,  in- 
volves as  a  polar  component  the  wish  to  lose  one's 
mind.  For  the  insane  is  responsible  neither  to  him- 
self nor  before  the  law.  "He  cannot  help  it."  That 
is  why  paranoiac  conditions  break  out  so  often  with 
the  commission  of  some  crime.  On  the  other  hand 
the  paranoiac  turns  insane  as  a  defence  against  com- 
mitting a  crime.  We  shall  yet  find  that  isolation  in 
an  asylum  for  the  insane  corresponds  with  many 
a  victim's  hidden  wish,  because  there  they  find  peace 
of  mind  and  security. 

The  jealousy  of  paranoia  like  every  other  form 
of  jealousy  is  an  expression  of  rage.  But  it  serves 
to  rationalize  the  anger  and  lends  force  as  well  as  a 
measure  of  emotional  justification  to  the  criminal 
impulse.  Many  crimes  of  passion,  so-called,  are 
caused  by  the  passion  for  crime.  We  have  as  yet 
penetrated  but  little  through  the  mask  which  covers 


Jealousy  and  Paranoia  159 

the  inner  criminal.  We  are  still  too  anxiously  con- 
cerned with  the  superficial  motivations  which  bring 
about  sadism  to  find  the  path  leading  towards  the 
fundamental  fact.  The  best  measure  of  culture  is 
the  manner  in  which  the  man's  primordial  character 
manifests  itself  in  us,  our  conscious  conduct.  That 
is  why  the  advancement  of  culture  is  bound  to  lead 
to  an  increase  of  insanity  in  the  proportion  that 
the  jails  are  emptied. 

I  must  again  point  out  that  Juliusburger  was  the 
first  to  recognize  and  describe  clearly  these  relations. 
In  fact  the  credit  of  having  discovered  the  relations 
between  homosexuality  and  paranoia  belongs  to  him. 
In  his  work  entitled,  "Die  Homosexualitat  im  Vorent- 
wurf  zu  einem  deutschen  Strafgesetzbuch"  (Allge- 
meine  Zeitschrift  f.  Psychiatrie,  1911),  he  already 
stated : 

"Furthermore  we  find  in  the  insane  the  well-known 
delusion  of  persecution  and  its  motive  is  often  de- 
rived from  homosexuality  inasmuch  as  the  patients 
complain  that  they  are  pursued  with  homosexual 
intent,  of  which  they  themselves  disclaim  any  guilt. 
Or,  in  their  morbid  state  of  mind,  they  believe  them- 
selves victims  of  persecution  because  it  is  proposed 
that  they  should  be  driven  into  the  alleged  ranks 
of  homosexuals,  something  they  resent  most  scorn- 
fully. In  both  cases  we  see  a  peculiar  psychic  proc- 
ess which  must  be  conceived  as  a  projection  to  the 
surroundings,  to  the  world  of  external  reality,  of 


160  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

unconscious  subjective  notions.  When  an  individual 
breaks  down  mentally  complaining  to  be  a  victim 
of  watchfulness  and  persecution  for  alleged  homo- 
sexual purposes,  the  condition  may  be  explained 
only  in  the  sense  that  the  individual  in  question 
actually  harbors  within  himself  a  powerful  homo- 
sexual tendency  and  the  latter  is  projected  unto 
the  world  of  external  reality  through  a  peculiar 
mental  mechanism.  The  old  proposition:  ex  nihilo 
nihil  fit  holds  true  also  of  the  mental  sphere  and  it 
would  be  utterly  unscientific  to  fail  to  recognize  in 
this  sphere  as  well  the  law  of  strict  causality  or 
motivation.  A  careful  examination  of  the  mental 
life  of  our  insane  man's  unconscious  shows  that 
homosexuality  is  a  powerful  motive  force  much  more 
frequently  than  is  ordinarily  recognized  and  this 
attempt  to  turn  the  unconscious  subjective  feeling 
of  homosexuality  into  an  objective  reality,  consti- 
tutes a  pathway  for  the  release  of  inner  psychic 
tension,  so  a  means  for  the  individual  to  escape  the 
feeling  of  guilt  roused  by  his  erroneous  perception 
of  facts  and  to  pass  the  responsibility  onto  other 
shoulders.  Many  of  the  insane  notions  of  our  pa- 
tients become  intelligible  and  we  grasp  their  mean- 
ing only  when  we  recognize  the  powerful  role  which 
homosexuality  plays  in  man's  unconscious. 

Juliusburger  also  recognizes  the  significance  of 
sadism  and  its  tremendous  role  in  the  psychogenesis 
of  the  delusion  of  jealousy.  In  his  contribution 


Sadism  and  Jealousy  161 

referred  to  previously,  "Zur  Psychologic  des  Alko- 
holismus"  (Zentralblatt  f.  Psychoanalyse,  Vol.  Ill, 
1913),  he  makes  the  following  relevant  observa- 
tions : 

"I  agree  with  Freud  that  the  homosexual  or  ho- 
mopsychic  component  of  man  and  woman  finds  one 
of  its  outlets,  as  sublimation,  in  the  form  of  com- 
panionship and  social  drinking.  But  thus  far  I 
remain  unconvinced  that  homosexuality  or  its 
psychic  substitute  plays  also  a  similar  role  in  the 
pathogenesis  of  the  delusion  of  jealousy.  Therefore 
I  still  adhere  to  the  view  expressed  by  my  colleague, 
Hans  Oppenheim,  in  his  contribution,  "Zur  Frage 
der  Genese  des  Eifersuchtswahns"  (published  in: 
Zentralblatt  f.  Psychoanalyse,  1911).  As  formerly 
I  still  regard  the  sadistic-masochistic  instinctive 
cravings  as  the  strongest  root  of  the  delusion  of 
jealousy.  I  found  particularly  instructive  a  cer- 
tain case  in  which  sadism  broke  forth  in  a  jealous 
drinker  more  quickly  than  I  had  ever  seen  that  hap- 
pen before.  This  man's  sadism  manifested  itself 
concurrently  in  an  incredible  cruelty  to  dogs  which 
could  be  only  explained  by  his  sadism.  The  oft- 
recorded  fact  that  the  jealous  drinker  is  not  sat- 
isfied and  does  not  release  his  victim  even  after  the 
latter,  in  an  attempt  to  quiet  him,  submits  to  some 
disgusting  act,  the  continual  repetition  by  him  of 
tortures  and  cruelties,  may  be  explained  only  as  due 
to  a  deeply  rooted  sadistic  impulse  everlastingly 


162  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

craving  gratification.  The  delusion  of  jealousy  is 
rooted  in  sadism,  the  overstressed  images  accom- 
panying the  morbid  feeling  of  jealousy  are  gen- 
erated by  the  sadistic  tendency.  Sadism  is  the  fer- 
tile soil  giving  rise  to  the  delusions  of  persecution 
of  the  jealous  alcoholics,  and  intimately  linked  with 
sadism  stands  masochism,  upon  which  the  feeling 
of  jealousy  feeds  and  grows." 

"Besides  the  sadistic-masochistic  components  the 
pathogenesis  of  the  delusion  of  jealousy  displays 
also  the  transposition  of  a  certain  feeling  of  guilt. 
In  my  cases  at  least  it  was  easy  to  prove  that  the 
jealous  drinker  who  forces  his  wife  to  commit  some 
punishable  offence,  is  himself  inclined  to  carry  out 
the  incriminating  acts  and  controls  himself  only 
with  difficulty.  I  found  a  similar  situation  in  the 
case  of  women,  victims  of  delusions  of  jealousy. 
The  more  or  less  conscious  projection  of  their  feel- 
ing of  guilt  upon  the  partner  brings  on  mental  re- 
lease and  a  certain  sense  of  freedom,  and  at  the  same 
time  furnishes  new  fuel  for  the  sadistic  impulse. 
Finally  for  the  explanation  of  the  delusion  of 
jealousy  we  must  take  into  consideration  also  an- 
other factor  which  may  be  explained  on  the  basis 
of  atavism.  We  shall  see  later  that  certain  atavis- 
tic reminiscences  play  a  great  role  in  the  psychology 
of  alcoholism.  The  will  to  power,  the  yearning  to 
dominate  and  subdue  woman  still  lies  dormant  in 
man's  soul, — a  remnant  from  old.  The  soul  of  the 


Feeling  of  Inadequacy  163 

alcoholic  is  particularly  prolific  in  atavistic  rem- 
nants which  show  themselves  upon  close  analysis 
and,  besides,  the  chronic  intoxication  rouses  the 
dormant  atavistic  trends  which  lie  dormant  at  the 
bottom  of  the  soul  and  brings  them  to  surface.  The 
aboriginal  tyrannical  self  awakens  in  the  drinker 
and  flays  a  controlling  whip  over  the  cowering  wom- 
an; in  the  case  of  female  victims  of  the  delusion  of 
jealousy  the  reverse  happens  and  the  primordial 
matriarchal  instinct  becomes  manifest.  We  learn 
progressively  to  see  and  appreciate  how  atavistic 
remnants  break  to  the  surface  in  the  psyche  of  the 
insane." 

That  conception  of  jealousy  as  the  "projection 
upon  the  surroundings  of  a  subjective  feeling  of 
inadequacy"  was  at  one  time  my  starting  point  in 
my  characterological  investigations  of  jealousy. 
But  I  soon  learned  that  the  problem  is  much  more 
complicated.  When  I  found  that  the  neurotics  rep- 
resent regressive  stages  of  development,  I  conceived 
jealousy  to  be  a  primitive  feeling  of  hatred,  char- 
acteristic of  man  in  his  primordial  state.  Paranoia 
discloses  the  primary  tendencies  which  are  glossed 
over  by  our  cultural  development.  One's  true  char- 
acter betrays  itself  in  one's  emotions.  Jealousy 
shows  us  the  true  inner  man  in  all  his  passionate 
cravings  and  his  hidden  desires. 

The  next  case  illustrates  all  the  characteristic 
features :  the  delusion  of  persecution,  the  morbid 


164  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

jealousy  and  the  brutal  sadism.  There  is  no  in- 
sight into  the  condition.  The  feeling  of  jealousy  is 
adjudged  as  justified.  Ridiculous  incidents  are  held 
forth  as  grounds  for  suspicion  in  order  to  remove 
from  self  the  sense  of  guilt.  All  the  alleged  "perse- 
cutions," which  are  looked  upon  as  dangerous,  lack 
any  objective  grounds.  Often  sadism  breaks 
through,  though  under  the  guise  of  emotional 
paralogisms. 

77.  Mr.  A.  W.,  a  manufacturer,  29  years  of  age, 
consults  me  for  anxiety,  a  condition  which  has 
already  plunged  him  into  very  unpleasant  situa- 
tions. His  anxiety  broke  out  in  Tyrol  the  first 
time.  He  wanted  to  meet  a  certain  party  and  asked 
his  landlord  for  directions.  The  latter  conducted 
him  personally  over  the  road,  which  was  a  very 
rough  and  badly  neglected  one.  Suddenly  the  man 
saw  in  front  of  him  some  suspicious-looking  per- 
sons. But  he  controlled  himself,  although  he  sur- 
mised they  were  tramps  if  not  a  gang  of  highway- 
men. Next  he  saw  a  number  of  men  on  the  hill 
hurrying  in  his  direction.  At  that  he  broke  into  a 
run,  and  kept  running  as  fast  as  he  could.  A  shot 
rang  out  in  the  distance,  intended  for  him.  .  .  .  He 
reached  the  valley,  out  of  breath,  and  reported  the 
occurrence  to  the  officer.  The  latter  shook  his  head 
and  did  not  even  care  to  question  the  landlord,  who 
explained  that  he  had  merely  conducted  the  gentle- 


Paranoiac  Suspicions  165 

man  through  a  short  cut  in  the  road  which  is  also 
used  by  hunters.  That  short  cut  leads  to  the  next 
broad  highway.  But  A.  insisted  that  all  was  not 
well  and  that  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  hold  him 
up.  The  officer  said  that  in  his  30-year  experience 
such  a  thing  had  never  happened  in  that  locality. 
But  A.  remained  unconvinced  and  to  this  day  he 
believes  that  he  had  narrowly  escaped  a  hold-up. 
That  might  be  thought  possibly  true  if  the  occur- 
rence stood  alone.  But  he  had  very  many  such 
experiences.  During  a  journey  through  Sweden  he 
saw  the  hotel  proprietor  talk  in  subdued  tones  in 
Swedish  with  a  number  of  guests  who  thereupon 
stared  at  him  queerly.  There  was  no  key  to  his 
room  and  the  room  could  not  be  locked.  He  could 
not  sleep  and  kept  peering  through  the  window. 
Then  he  saw  a  number  of  queer  fellows  foregather- 
ing in  the  hall.  He  could  not  stay  longer  in  that 
house.  The  owner  told  him  that  as  he  had  engaged 
the  room  he  would  have  to  keep  it.  They  could  not 
come  to  an  understanding.  He  saw  an  officer  pass- 
ing by  and  called  upon  the  representative  of  law  to 
help  him  extricate  himself.  The  officer  knew  a  few 
German  words,  he  stepped  in,  and  they  went  to  the 
police  station  together,  and  there  a  record  was 
made  of  his  remarkable  adventures.  He  left  his 
lodgings  a  third  time  on  similar  grounds.  On  his 
excursions  he  always  carries  a  revolver  and  that 
gives  him  a  certain  sense  of  security. 


166  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

It  is  easy  to  diagnose  this  as  a  case  of  paranoia. 
The  absence  of  insight  after  the  emotional  episodes 
shows  the  psychotic  character  of  the  trouble.  A 
victim  of  anxiety  neurosis  may  have  similar  ex- 
periences. But  afterwards,  perhaps  only  a  few 
hours  after  the  occurrence,  he  says  to  himself:  "It 
was  nonsense,"  and  is  ashamed  to  speak  of  it  later. 
But  this  man  dwells  on  his  adventures  trying  to  con- 
vince me  of  the  dangers  he  has  gone  through. 

The  notion  of  being  watched  and  pursued  is  a 
product  of  his  homosexual  leaning  which  he  is  unable 
to  control.  We  inquire  into  his  personal  habits  and 
past  life  and  find  that  his  mother  died  when  he  was 
very  young  and  his  father  assumed  also  the  place 
of  a  mother  to  him.  With  his  father  he  maintained 
a  sort  of  "spiritual  marriage"  relationship  up  to  a 
few  months  ago.  They  always  went  out  together, 
never  one  without  the  other,  and  they  slept  in  one 
room.  The  latter  habit  was  but  seldom  broken  by 
the  presence  of  friends. 

A  remarkable  episode  is  brought  to  memory  such 
as  is  always  found  among  the  homosexuals.  He 
once  fell  in  love  with  a  girl,  an  employee's  sweet- 
heart. That  passion  soon  blew  over.  Another  love 
affair,  however,  almost  turned  him  away  from  his 
customary  leaning.  There  was  another  girl  em- 
ployed in  the  office,  a  slim,  diminutive  figure,  rather 
plain-looking,  and  underdeveloped  (a  type  resem- 
bling the  male).  That  girl  was  engaged  and  her 


"Spiritual  Marriage"  167 

young  man  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  to  take  her 
home.  Everybody  in  the  store  knew  that  the  young 
man  was  waiting  outside  at  the  closing  hour  (he 
claims  she  was  cordial  also  with  some  other  men  in 
the  store).  He  fell  in  love  with  the  girl  and  soon 
showed  that  uncontrollable  passion  which  is  charac- 
teristic of  homosexuals  when  they  attempt  to  save 
themselves  from  man, — when  they  try  to  fly  from 
homosexuality.  He  soon  succeeded  in  winning  her 
favor  against  his  rival,  who  was  but  a  poor  employee. 
The  poor  girl  was  supremely  happy  and  proud  that 
the  wealthy  manufacturer's  son  had  his  eye  on  her. 
He  promptly  showed  the  girl  that  his  intentions 
were  honorable.  He  withdrew  entirely  from  his 
father  who  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  affair.  He 
lived  with  his  thoughts  exclusively  on  and  for  the 
girl.  She  had  to  leave  the  office.  The  father  re- 
quested it  and,  besides,  the  other  employees  gos- 
siped and  spread  rumors  which  were  unpleasant  to 
him.  He  received  anonymous  communications 
pointing  out  to  him  that  the  girl  was  flighty.  An- 
other employee  told  him  that  he  had  kissed  the  girl 
and  she  was  not  at  all  a  prude.  These  persons  natu- 
rally did  not  know  that  their  tales  only  increased 
his  passion  for  the  girl.  For  it  was  precisely  the 
thought  that  she  had  been  kissed  by  another  man 
that  made  her  so  irresistible  in  his  sight.  It  made 
him  angry  and  raging  mad  but  his  excitation  reacted 
upon  his  homosexual  component.  The  more  he  was 


168  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

roused  against  the  girl  the  more  closely  he  was 
enmeshed  with  her.  He  met  her  three  times  daily.  He 
called  for  her  in  the  morning,  at  noon  they  took  a 
walk  together,  and  the  evenings,  often  the  nights, 
belonged  to  the  girl  who  proved  with  a  physician's 
certificate  that  she  was  still  virgo  intacta.  His  re- 
lations with  her  were  of  such  a  nature  that  her  vir- 
ginity was  not  endangered.  This  attitude,  this  fear- 
some withholding  from  the  task  of  defloration  under 
the  excuse  of  ethical  considerations,  is  typical  of 
the  neurotic's  feeling  of  uncertainty  and  lack  of  con- 
fidence in  himself,  fear  of  binding  himself,  and  fear 
of  consequences,  and  shows  an  insufficient  libido. 
The  passion  was  something  rather  spiritual,  a  trans- 
ference, something  unreal.  For  they  passed  some 
nights  together  and  he  was  satisfied  merely  to  be 
in  the  same  room  (they  never  slept  in  one  bed). 
Her  presence  had  chiefly  a  quieting  effect  on  him. 
Through  her  he  felt  himself  protected  against  his 
homosexual  thoughts.  He  also  needed  a  love  affair 
to  show  the  whole  world  that  he  was  not  homosexual 
and  that  he  was  capable  of  loving  a  woman. 

But  during  the  very  first  days  of  this  love  affair 
his  jealousy  began  to  assert  itself,  a  peculiarity 
characteristic  of  these  subjects,  permitting  them  to 
concentrate  their  mind  perpetually  on  the  subject 
of  men.  First  he  began  to  investigate  her  past. 
She  had  to  confess  everything  to  him.  Then  there 
followed  endless  torture  over  endless  days.  In  the 


Jealousy  of  the  Past  169 

morning  he  began  to  look  questioningly  at  her.  If 
she  showed  blue  dark  streaks  under  her  eyes,  or 
looked  pale,  he  felt  sure  that  she  had  been  untrue 
to  him  that  night.  Although  he  conducted  her  home 
late  at  night  and  called  for  her  early  next  morning 
he  still  thought  that  she  slipped  out  of  the  house 
to  meet  some  strange  lover  somewhere.  Often  he 
stood  on  watch  all  night  in  the  front  of  her  home. 
He  saw  curious  shadows  moving  across  her  window 
blind  and  was  sure  that  it  must  be  a  man.  He 
endured  hellish  torments  over  it.  He  engaged  a 
detective  to  watch  the  girl  and  caught  her  in  an 
innocent  lie.  His  persistent  questionings  had  cowed 
her  and  sometimes  she  had  to  lie  in  order  to  pacify 
him.  An  innocent  fib  of  that  character  was  the 
starting  point  of  a  quarrel  which  kept  up  for  many 
weeks.  She  saw  him  patrol  up  and  down  in  front 
of  her  house.  He  looked  badly  run  down  as  he  did 
not  sleep  nights  and  he  neglected  his  affairs  at  the 
factory.  She  made  him  promise  that  he  would  go 
home  nights.  He  promised  and  immediately  after- 
wards felt  uneasy  over  it.  For  he  was  certain  that 
she  made  him  give  that  promise  so  as  to  be  able  to 
deceive  him  more  easily. 

Then  terrible  thoughts  of  revenge  flashed  through 
his  mind.  He  wanted  to  shoot  the  unknown  lover 
and  strangle  the  girl.  Perhaps  he  sought  a  proof 
of  unfaithfulness  so  as  to  get  rid  of  the  girl  and 
justify  his  own  disloyalty  towards  her. 


170  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

He  naturally  pretended  once  to  go  on  a  journey 
only  to  return  unexpectedly  to  the  girl.  He  thought 
he  smelled  cigar  smoke,  dragged  her  by  the  hair, 
and  wanted  to  force  a  confession  from  her.  He  also 
accused  her  of  intimacy  with  her  70-year-old 
guardian. 

Such  cases  are  not  favorable  for  analysis  and 
rather  hopeless.  I  am  not  as  lucky  as  Bjerre  2  to 
be  able  to  report  a  complete  cure  of  a  case  of  para- 
noia. Usually  these  patients  abandon  the  psycho- 
analysis, finding  some  pretext  to  turn  from  the  con- 
sultant. It  is  useless  to  explain  to  them  the  mechan- 
ism of  transference.  From  the  moment  when  they 
perceive  a  leaning  towards  their  consultant  that 
sympathetic  feeling  is  changed  into  anxiety  and  dis- 
trust. They  are  unwilling  to  recognize  their  homo- 
sexuality. Their  psychic  disturbance  is  too  deep 
and  a  correction  is  no  longer  possible.  Often  the 
subjects  stay  away  after  only  a  few  visits.  This 
sudden  abandonment  stands  in  sharp  contrast  to 
their  initial  enthusiasm  for  the  new  method  of  treat- 
ment. Others  stay  on  with  the  analysis  for  a  few 
weeks  but  make  little  or  no  progress.  So  long  as 
their  homosexual  tendencies  are  not  touched  upon, 
it  is  possible  to  keep  up  the  psychoanalysis  a  little 
longer  but  the  psychoanalysis  is  superficial  under 
the  circumstances,  as  they  cannot  be  induced  to 

*  Zur  Radikalbehandluny   der   chronischen  Paranoia.     Jahr- 
buch   f.   psychoanalytische  Forsch.,   VoL    III,   1912. 


Paranoiac  Jealousy  171 

apply  candor,  always  keep  secrets  from  the  consul- 
tant, and  cover  under  silence  whatever  comes  into 
their  mind  bearing  on  their  attitude  towards  their 
physician. 

He  carried  his  revolver  whenever  he  called  at  my 
office,  always  ready  to  shoot  down  the  alleged  enemy. 
I  tried  to  make  him  understand  that  he  was  tor- 
tured by  his  own  homosexual  and  criminal  thoughts. 
He  listened  incredulously  but  was  not  so  averse  as 
I  have  seen  most  paranoiacs. 

This  patient  also  stayed  away  after  three  weeks 
of  analysis  because  the  analysis  produced  in  him  a 
tremendous  excitement.  He  thought  I  was  in  league 
with  his  father  3  to  part  him  from  his  girl.  The 
real  object  of  his  love  was  the  father  who  seems  to 
me  to  play  an  important  role  in  the  psychogenesis 
of  male  paranoia. 

I  saw  him  two  years  later  during  the  war.  He 
had  joined  the  army  as  volunteer,  had  made  an  ex- 
cellent record  for  himself  and  had  been  slightly 
wounded.  Since  the  war  he  felt  better.  He  had 
given  up  the  engagement  shortly  after  the  treat- 
ment. His  ideas  of  persecution  had  subsided  to  a 
great  extent,  he  claimed. 

The  next  case  shows  us  a  paranoiac  jealousy  with 
insane  notions  based  on  proofs  ferreted  out  and 
scrutinized  with  remarkable  ingenuity.  Such  cases 

*A  symbolic  representation  of  the  identification  of  myself 
with  the   father. 


172  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

form  the  borderline  towards  the  class  of  querrulants 
who  clamor  always  for  their  "rights,"  precisely  be- 
cause an  inner  voice  clamoring  for  "injustice"  must 
be  drowned. 

78.  Mr.  S.  D.  is  referred  to  me  by  his  family 
physician  from  a  distance.  I  am  asked  to  deter- 
mine whether  his  jealousy  is  justified  or  the  result 
of  a  morbid  state  of  mind. 

He  is  a  very  energetic,  active  30-year-old  mer- 
chant, who  conducts  the  local  inn  in  connection  with 
his  larger  business  in  a  small  village.  In  eight  years 
he  made  a  great  success  and  attained  affluence.  He 
has  acquired  all  the  retail  business  of  the  place,  car- 
ries on  also  a  wholesale  business  with  the  neighbor- 
ing retail  dealers,  and  was  on  the  way  to  become  a 
very  wealthy  man  when  he  began  to  quarrel  with  his 
wife  on  account  of  his  jealousy.  His  wife  was  of  a 
frigid  temperament  who  always  remained  cool  dur- 
ing his  embrace  and  it  always  worried  him.  After 
the  birth  of  a  couple  of  children  she  grew  somewhat 
more  responsive.  When  she  had  her  first  strong 
orgasm  during  his  embrace  he  became  suspicious 
and  concluded  at  once  that  she  must  have  had  some 
other  instructor  in  the  art  of  love.  How  was  it 
possible  for  a  cool  woman,  suddenly,  over  night, 
as  it  were,  to  turn  into  a  passionate  mate?  He  be- 
gan watching  his  wife  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  she  must  have  had  intercourse  with  a  certain 


Paranoiac  Jealousy  173 

man  possessing  a  very  long  phallus.  There  lived  in 
that  village  a  farmer  who  was  no  longer  young,  but 
wealthy,  and  known  for  his  long  penis  and  his  vi- 
rility. That  fellow  was  his  regular  guest  at  the 
inn.  What  more  natural  than  that  the  inn- 
keeper should  conclude  that  he  must  be  the  guilty 
man.  We  note  that  his  mind  must  have  been  pre- 
occupied for  a  long  time  with  the  size  of  that  man's 
penis.  That  phantasy  he  projected  to  his  wife. 
His  curiosity  and  longing  to  see  that  phallus  he 
ascribed  to  his  wife.  That  is  how  thought  processes 
originate.  Such  autism  (Bleuler)  renders  us  un- 
critical and  permits  us  to  see  the  whole  world 
through  the  subjective  coloring  of  our  own  emotions. 
How  could  his  wife,  a  woman,  fail  to  be  interested 
in  the  size  of  the  peasant's  phallus,  which  was  openly 
the  talk  of  the  tavern,  when  he,  a  man,  could  not 
help  being  interested?  Such,  approximately,  is  the 
logic  of  this  thinking.  He  began  to  watch  that 
peasant  and  his  wife.  He  pretended  to  go  on  a 
journey  telling  his  wife  he  would  not  be  back  before 
the  following  day.  But  he  returned  that  very  eve- 
ning. He  tiptoed  up  the  steps  to  the  bedroom. 
He  heard  a  dull  thud.  Naturally  it  was  the  peas- 
ant, escaping  through  the  window.  It  was — as  the 
woman  explained — the  cat  who  had  been  scared  off. 
He  insisted  a  man  had  been  in  the  room.  His  wife 
felt  so  indignant  that  she  wanted  to  leave  him  at 
once  and  refused  to  sav  another  word.  He  became 


174  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

humble  and  begged  her  imploringly  for  forgiveness 
telling  her  the  reason  for  his  jealousy.  The  wife 
declared  that  she  had  always  been  passionate  but 
was  ashamed  to  show  it.  Finally  it  came  to  her  all 
of  a  sudden  that  it  was  foolish  on  her  part,  also,  she 
had  learned  to  love  him  more  than  ever.  She  can- 
not help  it  if  she  is  now  more  responsive.  There 
followed  an  interval  of  peace  but  only  for  a  few 
months.  Soldiers  were  quartered  in  the  place  and  a 
physically  impressive  captain  secured  a  room. 
From  the  moment  of  his  appearance  at  the  place  that 
captain  roused  the  man's  suspicions.  He  found 
that  his  wife  gave  the  fellow  the  best  cup  of  coffee, 
that  she  was  altogether  too  friendly  with  him, 
and  that  she  showered  upon  him  all  sorts  of  pleasant 
little  courtesies.  His  wife  explained  to  him  that  this 
captain  bought  of  them  all  the  supplies  for  his  com- 
pany and  was  the  means  of  bringing  them  impor- 
tant business,  and  that  she  was  friendly  only  for 
business  reasons,  but  that  their  relations  had  never 
trespassed  the  limits  of  propriety.  But  he  kept 
collecting  indications  of  her  unfaithfulness.  Among 
the  proofs  he  found  the  butt  of  a  cigarette  in  his 
wife's  room.  He  questioned  her  closely  and  asked 
the  officer's  orderly  to  bring  him  a  cigarette  from 
his  master's  case,  claiming  those  cigarettes  had  such 
a  pleasant  aroma  he  wanted  to  try  one.  He  thus 
secured  a  cigarette  and  found  that  it  bore  an  iden- 
tical mark.  The  fact  was  he  smoked  the  same  brand 


Paranoiac  Jealousy  175 

of  cigarettes,  but  lie  thought  he  discovered  a  cer- 
tain stripe  which  the  other  cigarettes  did  not  have 
(I  could  not  detect  the  stripe  in  question).  His 
other  proofs  were  of  a  like  character.  This  time 
he  had  a  terrible  quarrel  with  his  wife, — much  more 
serious  than  the  previous  ordeal.  Trouble  upon 
trouble  followed  after  that.  He  suspected  his  clerks 
and  dismissed  them  one  after  another  about  every 
two  weeks.  Every  one  was  his  wife's  lover.  Finally 
he  rushed  at  his  wife,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  to  beat  her, 
and  began  choking  her.  The  following  day  the 
woman  left  him,  went  to  live  with  her  sister,  and 
started  proceedings  for  divorce.  She  claimed  her 
husband  was  not  normal  and  he  voluntarily  came  to 
Vienna  to  place  himself  under  my  observation. 

First  I  turned  my  attention  to  his  jealousy  and  I 
tried  carefully  to  correct  that.  He  acknowledged 
some  points,  here  and  there,  showed  some  insight 
into  his  condition,  and  was  not  shocked  when  I  re- 
fused to  give  him  a  certificate  of  good  health. 
Meanwhile  he  had  removed  his  beard  to  give  him- 
self a  younger  appearance.  That  change  was  not 
necessary  as  he  was  young-looking  enough,  but  it 
was  part  of  the  outbreak  of  his  feminine  tendencies. 
He  also  had  a  string  of  dreams  in  which  he  was  a 
woman.  Usually  he  rehearsed  the  old  jealousy 
scenes  and  he  repeatedly  killed  his  wife  in  his 
dreams. 

Thus  he  dreamed: 


176  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

I  am  with  my  wife  in  an  old  room  but  dressed  as 
a  woman,  so  as  not  to  be  recognized.  My  wife  steps 
out  of  the  room,  it  was  very  dark.  The  captain 
comes  into  the  room  and  wants  to  touch  me  under 
the  dress.  But  some  one  calls  him  out  of  the  room. 
I  jump  at  my  wife,  enraged:  that  is  the  kind  of  a 

h you  are.    Now  I  know  everything  about  you 

.  .  .  and  I  stick  a  knife  in  her  throat. 

In  another  dream  he  lies  hidden  under  the  bed 
and  feels  the  swaying  motion  of  coitus  above.  It 
was  very  characteristic  that  after  quarrels  and 
scenes  of  violence  he  craved  intercourse  with  his  wife 
and  his  libido  was  much  stronger  .  .  .  clearly  on 
account  of  the  sadistic  excitation. 

I  saw  this  patient  again  five  years  after  the  psy- 
choanalysis. He  was  divorced  from  his  wife  and 
was  apparently  very  quiet.  He  claimed  to  be  en- 
tirely well,  said  he  was  jealous  no  longer,  and  every 
now  and  then  had  intercourse  with  women.  I  do 
not  dare  decide  whether  this  result  may  be  ascribed 
to  the  analysis  and  the  therapeutic-educational 
course  of  treatment. 

The  various  confusion  states,  called  periodic  in- 
sanity, must  be  looked  upon  as  an  equivalent  of 
permanent  insanity.  It  is  certainly  striking  to  see 
how  many  alcoholics,  morphinists,  opium  eaters, 
cocaine  fiends  and,  in  more  recent  years,  victims 
addicted  to  adalin,  veronal,  medinal,  luminal,  etc., 


Criminal  Trend  177 

fear  insanity.  If  such  a  case  is  analyzed  one  al- 
ways finds  the  homosexual  component  and  the  re- 
pressed sadistic  tendency.  The  psychic  mechanisms 
of  these  disorders  are  the  same  as  those  described 
in  the  paranoid  form  of  the  jealousy  delusion.  We 
have  in  all  these  cases  an  endopsychic  perception 
that  inner  forces  compel  greater  stress  on  the  delu- 
sions than  on  reality. 

The  next  case  is  a  pure  example  of  this  condition 
under  a  form  which  often  ends  in  suicide. 

79.  Mr.  O.  L.,  a  very  talented  violinist,  suffers 
unbearable  anxieties,  among  them  the  fear  of  in- 
sanity being  the  strongest.  He  also  has  hours  of 
terrific,  unexplainable  depressions  for  which  he  is 
unable  to  give  any  cause.  He  only  has  the  feeling 
that  he  is  about  to  commit  some  terrible  deed  so  as 
to  rid  himself  of  the  anxiety  and  have  peace  once 
more.  He  thinks  he  might  commit  some  crime  and 
be  jailed  so  as  to  be  sure  that  there  is  nothing 
further  for  him  to  fear.  During  the  first  weeks  he 
speaks  only  of  his  anxiety  over  his  father.  He  has 
the  idea  fixed  in  his  mind  that  his  father  will  come 
to  Vienna  and  have  him  interned  in  an  insane  asylum. 
Rather  than  put  up  with  that  he  will  shoot  his 
father  first  and  then  kill  himself.  He  reverts  every 
little  while  to  the  suspicion  that  I  am  in  league  with 
his  father.  (That  is  the  form  which  the  identifica- 
tion of  the  physician  with  the  father  assumes  with 


178  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

this  class  of  patients.  The  physician  is  the  symbol 
of  the  father.)  He  has  been  taking  various  nar- 
cotics for  a  number  of  years.  Not,  exactly,  to  sleep. 
For  he  sleeps  well  without  the  aid  of  veronal  or 
pantopon.  But  he  suffers  so  much  of  anxiety.  And 
he  feels  that  the  narcotics  make  a  better  man  of  him. 
He  uses  unbelievable  doses  of  these  drugs.  He  has 
once  taken  with  suicidal  intent  10  g.  veronal  in  one 
dose  with  the  only  result  that  he  slept  24  hours 
"like  a  top"  and  woke  up  without  any  ill  effects.  He 
sleeps  every  day  till  11  or  noon,  sometimes  into  the 
afternoon  hours,  and  still  wakes  up  somewhat 
drowsy. 

He  now  abstains  strictly  from  alcohol.  He  has 
done  a  number  of  foolish  things  under  the  influence 
of  drink.  Once  he  tackled  an  officer  at  a  night 
resort,  wanted  to  embrace  him,  kiss  him,  made  vari- 
ous suggestive  proposals  and  finally  had  to  be 
thrown  out.  He  has  also  had  serious  rows  which 
put  him  in  the  hands  of  the  police.  He  gave  his 
word  of  honor  to  his  father  that  he  would  not  touch 
liquor  any  more  because  he  was  threatened  with 
internment  at  a  sanitarium  for  alcoholics.  He 
broke  his  word  only  once  but  has  turned  to  various 
narcotics.  During  a  six-months  sojourn  at  a  sani- 
tarium he  got  completely  well  and  abandoned  the 
drugs.  One  month  after  leaving  the  sanitarium  he 
began  again  to  use  the  drugs. 

He   is   an   impressive,   handsome,   very  powerful 


Early  Life  History  179 

man,  very  "lucky"  with  women.  But  he  is  true  to 
none  for  any  length  of  time  excepting  the  last  sweet- 
heart. He  did  love  her  and  does  to  this  day.  He 
would  marry  her  if  he  could  support  her. 

He  is  tremendously  jealous  and  his  jealousy  is 
that  typical  form  which  is  concerned  with  the  past, 
an  example  of  which  we  have  seen  in  case  75.  He 
has  to  be  told  over  and  over  by  his  sweethearts  how 
they  have  been  seduced.  He  must  hear  with  par- 
ticular circumstantiality  all  the  details  of  the  de- 
floration. That  causes  him  tremendous  sexual  ex- 
citation. Only  then  is  he  able  to  achieve  orgasm 
with  women.  Otherwise  he  may  keep  up  the  sexual 
congress  for  a  half  hour  without  accomplishing 
ejaculation.4 

Finally  ejaculation  and  orgasm  are  brought 
about  through  manual  friction  of  the  penis  by  the 
woman.  This  form  of  sexual  gratification  leads  back 
to  a  particular  incident  in  his  youth  when  the  choice 
was  made.  First,  he  confesses  that  at  17  he  main- 
tained relations  with  a  boy  who  gratified  him  in 
that  manner.  Earlier  reminiscences  from  childhood 
appear.  The  incidents  always  relate  to  boys.  Now 
he  does  not  want  to  recognize  any  homosexual  ten- 
dencies. At  17  years  he  made  a  forceful  attempt 
to  tear  himself  away  from  his  friend  and  began 
passionately  to  run  after  women  and  girls. 

*  A  form  of  sexual  disorder  not  infrequent  among  neurotics, 
suggesting  a  different  sexual  objective. 


180  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

His  homosexuality  shows  itself  in  the  choice  of 
his  love  objectives.  Usually  he  seduces  the  sisters 
of  those  of  his  friends  whom  he  likes  in  particular. 
I  know  no  affair  of  his  in  which  some  man  did  not 
play  a  role.  When  a  man  did  not  figure  at  the  be- 
ginning he  was  brought  in  later,  so  as  to  complete 
the  constellation  necessary  for  the  rousing  of  his 
libidinous  craving.  Very  characteristic  is  the  fol- 
lowing episode,  among  the  others  of  the  last  few 
years : 

He  became  acquainted  at  a  sanitarium  with  a 
young  woman  who  soon  became  his  sweetheart.  One 
of  his  most  intimate  friends  was  also  at  that  sani- 
tarium. He  asked  his  friend  to  try  his  luck  with 
the  lady  because  he  wanted  to  test  her  faithfulness. 
The  friend  hesitated.  He  was  afraid  of  a  misun- 
derstanding and  the  woman  was  not  worth  that  to 
him.  Then  our  subject  tried  to  bring  him  and  his 
sweetheart  together  in  another  way.  He  wagered 
a  large  sum  of  money  that  he  could  not  get  at  the 
girl.  His  friend  accepted  the  wager,  and  three  days 
later  proved  that  he  had  won  the  bet.  O.  L.  wanted 
to  hear  every  detail  about  the  seduction  and  became 
so  enraged  that  he  could  have  killed  his  friend.  Then 
that  friend  seduced  again  another  sweetheart  of  his, 
a  few  months  later  he  attacked  him  on  the  street 
and  would  have  beaten  him  up  if  a  few  colleagues 
had  not  restrained  him. 

Now  here  in  Vienna  he  is  convinced  that  "that 


Fixation  on  the  Father  181 

d fellow"  will  seduce  also  his  present  sweet- 
heart, a  girl  whom  he  truly  loves.  But  if  so,  he  will 
find  the  fellow  and  kill  him  as  well  as  the  girl.  The 
woman  has  a  brother  who  plays  an  important  role 
in  the  psychogenesis  of  this  love.  Once  the  woman 
told  him  how  devotedly  she  loved  her  brother.  She 
could  understand  how  a  sister  may  give  herself  to  a 
brother.  Now  he  urged  the  woman  to  give  herself 
to  the  brother,  setting  up  but  one  condition:  he 
should  witness  the  act.  This  phantasy  assumed 
compulsive  strength.  On  every  occasion  he  tortured 
her,  insisting  that  she  ought  to  grant  him  the  wish, 
and  he  kept  calling  in  the  brother  when  she  did  not 
want  him.  Once  they  were  alone.  He  broke  his 
word  and  they  drank  merrily.  He  got  very  drunk 
and  made  a  passionate  love  declaration  to  his  sweet- 
heart's brother,  begging  him  to  accompany  him  to 
the  house  and  take  the  sister's  place. 

His  mother  died  when  he  was  15  years  of  age. 
The  father  engaged  a  young  woman  to  take  care  of 
the  house  and  he  fell  in  love  with  her.  At  the  same 
time  he  also  hated  her,  fearing  that  his  father  would 
disinherit  him  in  favor  of  this  woman.  He  even 
planned  to  put  the  woman  out  of  the  way  with  poi- 
son. Wholly  unconscious  and  most  deeply  repressed 
is  his  love  for  the  father,  whom  he  worries  and  to 
whom  he  causes  no  end  of  trouble.  He  was  at  the 
threshold  of  a  wonderful  career,  all  teachers  had 
prophesied  that  he  would  be  some  day  one  of  the 


182  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

world's  greatest  violinists.  His  first  concert  was  an 
unprecedented  success.  Then  his  neurosis  broke  out 
and  now  he  is  through  with  his  career.  Done  with 
it  and  with  life. 

Back  of  the  neurosis  the  motive  of  which  is  to 
worry  the  old  father,  to  irritate  him  and  force  him 
to  pay  attention  to  the  unsuccessful  son,  stands 
hidden  his  passionate  love  of  the  father,  though  he 
writes  him  scolding  letters,  20  sheets  long,  and 
threatens  to  shoot  him,  should  he  dare  cut  down  his 
rightful  inheritance.  A  certain  memory  trace  leads 
to  various  childhood  fancies  resembling  the  affairs 
with  boys  already  mentioned.  Finally  he  brings 
forth  a  reminiscence  placing  his  father  in  an  un- 
pleasant light.  The  father  was  also  a  drinker.  .  .  . 

It  seems  as  if  he  had  tried  to  forget  that  fact. 
His  fancies  of  murder  are  directed  against  the 
father.  That  becomes  clearer  all  the  time.  He 
turns  ill  and  addicted  to  veronal  so  as  to  commit 
no  crime.  He  feels  his  father  slights  and  neglects 
him.  They  quarrel  all  the  time  on  account  of  his 
dissipations.  The  father  threatens  he  will  be  no 
longer  responsible  for  his  debts.  The  son  must  give 
up  his  expensive  habits  of  living.  Then  the  war 
broke  out.  He  was  among  the  first  volunteers  to 
answer  the  call,  distinguished  himself  several  times 
with  his  conduct,  and  finally  met  his  death  in  an 
engagement. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  elsewhere  in  this  work 


The  Jealousy  of  Drinkers  183 

the  latent  homosexuality  of  drinkers.  In  the  light 
of  these  new  considerations,  the  well-known  jealousy 
of  drinkers  reveals  an  additional  feature.  The  in- 
toxication is  to  a  certain  extent  a  periodic  artificial 
paranoia  during  which  the  ideas  of  persecution 
come  to  the  foreground.  This  is  very  clearly  to  be 
seen  in  many  cases.  In  that  particular  respect  the 
alcohol  addict  is  hardly  different  from  the  paranoiac. 
Both  believe  in  the  objectivity  of  their  insane 
notions. 

The  following  two  case  histories  of  drinkers' 
jealousy  will  conclude  this  lengthy  list  of  illustrative 
cases : 

80.  Mr.  N.  V.,  Captain,  married  at  the  age  of 
34  and  has  been  married  two  years.  His  marriage 
was  unhappy  from  the  very  first  day.  Previous  to 
that  he  had  had  intercourse  only  with  puellce  pub- 
licoe  and  with  them  was  always  potent.  With  his 
wife  he  is  impotent.  He  is  very  unhappy  over  it 
and  consoles  himself  with  street  women.  He  began 
to  drink  and  beats  his  wife  while  intoxicated.  He 
scolds  her,  calls  her  a  whore  and  accuses  her  of 
intimacy  with  all  the  officers.  Although  he  had  been 
drinking  formerly,  he  did  so  with  moderation,  but 
now  he  is  a  confirmed  potator,  spends  his  time  in 
dram  shops  and  while  intoxicated  becomes  very 
friendly  with  the  waiters  and  other  underlings,  kiss- 
ing them  and  toasting  their  comradeship.  He  is 


184  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

firmly  convinced  that  his  wife  is  unfaithful  to  him 
and  even  suspects  his  boy  whom  he  beats  merci- 
lessly when  under  the  influence  of  drink. 

The  woman  left  her  husband  and  fled  to  her 
parents. 

That  affected  the  man  so  depressingly  that,  after 
a  three  months'  stay  at  a  sanitarium,  he  returned 
penitently,  a  changed  man,  and  prevailed  upon  the 
wife  to  return  and  live  with  him  again.  But  in  a 
few  weeks  his  old  demoniac  jealousy  set  in  once 
more.  This  time  he  accused  her  of  the  most  hor- 
rible crimes.  He  reproached  her  that  she  allowed 
herself  to  be  licked  by  the  dog  and  shot  the  animal. 
He  watched  her  carefully  and  denied  her  the  least 
social  intercourse.  Finally  he  accused  her  of  in- 
timacy with  her  15-year-old  brother.  He  found  a 
small  spot  on  the  bed  linen  and  he  cut  that  out  to 
preserve  as  proof  of  her  infidelity.  He  pounced  on 
her  one  night,  choked  her,  and  tried  to  force  her  to 
confess  her  doings  with  the  brother.  Again  she  fled 
to  her  parents  but  hesitated  to  turn  her  husband 
over  to  the  lunacy  board.  She  did  not  want  to  be 
the  cause  of  his  commitment  to  a  sanitarium. 

Meanwhile  the  patient's  insanity  grew  rapidly. 
He  drank  to  great  excess  and  raised  a  big  row  in 
front  of  her  parents'  home.  He  complained  to  the 
police  that  his  wife  and  her  younger  brother,  with 
whom  she  maintains  criminal  relations,  had  set  a 
number  of  desperate-looking  characters  on  his  trail. 


Alcoholism  and  Paranoia  185 

He  served  notice  that  he  would  give  those  fellows 
something  to  remember  him  by  and  that  the  first  one 
who  would  dare  come  too  close  to  him  would  be  shot 
down.  Commitment.  Delirium  tremens.  Exitus  in 
consequence  of  an  intercurrent  malady. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  suspected  little  brother- 
in-law  had  been  a  great  favorite  of  his ;  he  had  been 
fond  of  taking  the  boy  along  on  his  hunting  trips. 
When  completely  under  the  influence  of  drink  he 
always  wanted  to  embrace  him  and  pet  him. 

A  connection  between  paranoia  and  alcoholism  is 
shown  also  by  the  last  of  this  series  of  observations, 
which  follows: 

81.  This  is  a  woman  no  longer  in  her  prime  of 
life.  She  is  the  grandmother  of  several  children, 
54  years  of  age,  and,  up  to  a  few  years  ago,  she  was 
not  jealous.  As  soon  as  her  husband  ceased  to  have 
intercourse  with  her  she  was  seized  with  the  idea  that 
he  must  have  intercourse  with  a  certain  pretty  girl 
who  had  been  formerly  in  their  employ  and  had  left. 
She  had  seen  that  girl  often  in  the  neighborhood  and 
wondered  that  the  girl  looked  so  well  and  was  so  well 
dressed.  She  had  always  liked  the  girl  very  much. 
In  fact,  she  wept  when  the  girl  left  the  house.  Now 
she  tortured  her  husband  with  the  accusation  that 
he  was  intimate  with  that  girl, — she  was  sure  of  it. 
The  man  denied  it,  but — grilled  by  her — he  had  to 
admit  that  he  had  met  the  girl  on  the  street  a  few 


186  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

times  and  had  spoken  to  her.  That  led  to  such  ter- 
rible quarrels, — he  had  to  leave  the  house  and  was 
gone  for  weeks  on  a  journey.  He  wanted  to  have 
peace  and  was  energetic  enough  to  bring  it  about. 
In  fact,  he  threatened  to  sue  for  separation. 

The  woman  began  to  drink,  specially  liqueurs,  but 
also  ordinary  whiskey.  When  intoxicated  she  be- 
haved very  vulgarly  and  cursed  the  girl;  called  her 
a  whore,  and  shouted  that  she  ought  to  have  the 
clothes  torn  off  her.  She  threatened  her  youngest 
daughter's  husband  and  entertained  the  notion  of 
throwing  acid  at  him.  While  intoxicated  che  also 
felt  an  impulse  to  seek  out  her  youngest  daughter 
(obviously  to  find  her  son-in-law)  and  ran  to  the 
railroad  station,  entered  the  wrong  train,  and  com- 
mitted all  sorts  of  nuisances  so  that  she  had  to  be 
committed.  At  the  asylum  she  had  to  give  up  drink 
but  showed  no  ill  effects  from  the  enforced  absti- 
nence, only  she  figured  daily  what  her  husband  was 
up  to  with  the  girl.  Like  most  paranoiacs  she 
claimed  that  she  had  telepathic  powers  and  felt  at  a 
distance  that  her  husband  was  with  the  girl.  That 
was  an  absolute  fact  and  no  physician  could  con- 
vince her  it  was  not  so. 

That  contention  embodied  an  inner  truth:  the 
man  in  her  was  with  the  girl,  that  is,  the  man  in  her 
was  continually  preoccupied  with  the  girl.  In  fact, 
she  had  no  other  thought  than  the  girl.  It  was  as 
if  she  was  saying  to  herself :  If  I  were  a  man  I  would 


Alcoholism  and  Paranoia  187 

fall  in  love  with  this  girl  and  would  not  leave  her 
alone  a  minute.  She  would  have  to  be  mine  only. 

After  the  marriage  of  her  youngest  daughter  she 
fell  into  a  depression  during  which  she  first  began 
the  habit  of  indulging  in  alcoholic  drinks. 

Obviously  the  woman  had  two  homosexual  objec- 
tives which  she  fused:  the  servant  girl  and  the 
youngest  daughter.  In  fact,  she  began  early  to 
think  that  her  husband  was  intimate  with  the  daugh- 
ter in  question.  She  even  lodged  with  the  author- 
ities a  complaint  to  that  effect  and  asked  to  be 
allowed  to  bring  proofs  of  the  assertion.  Now  her 
husband  wanted  to  poison  her.  She  had  been  given 
coffee  which  had  an  arsenical  smell. 

She  transfers  to  the  surroundings  her  subjective 
criminal  ideas.  We  see  that  she  had  to  drink  in 
order  to  deafen  in  her  the  wild  beast  which  en- 
deavored to  break  forth  in  all  its  primordial  crudity. 
Her  commitment  to  an  asylum  did  not  change  her 
leanings.  She  swore  at  her  man  who  conspired  with 
the  hateful  son-in-law  to  have  her  put  out  of  the 
way  so  as  to  prevent  her  from  exposing  their  evil 
doings  before  the  whole  world. 

How  close  the  forbidden  tendencies  are  to  one 
another  in  such  cases !  Almost  uniformly  the  same 
picture  throughout :  criminality,  homosexuality  and 
incest.  After  years  of  the  compulsory  yoke  of  a 
formal  monosexuality  the  repression  gives  way  and 
the  underlying  pansexuality  and  criminal  tendencies 


188  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

manifest  themselves  in  pathologic  form.  For  all 
these  case  histories  center  around  the  "other,"  the 
second,  self, — the  repressed  component  of  human 
nature. 

We  know  many  persons  who  prove  themselves  vic- 
tims of  our  monosexual  culture.  The  race  is  paying 
for  the  development  of  monosexuality  with  neurotic 
homosexuality,  with  all  the  various  neuroses,  with 
alcoholism  and  paranoia! 

But  it  would  be  erroneous  for  that  reason  to  decry 
the  course  of  cultural  development  or  to  look  for  the 
improvement  of  conditions  to  changes  in  law  or  in 
the  formal  code  of  morals.  All  lovers  of  mankind 
surely  must  fight  for  the  abandonment  of  the  moral 
opprobium  and  legal  persecution  of  homosexuals  and 
for  a  greater  freedom  from  bias  in  the  perception 
of  the  problem  of  all  paraphilias.  But  we  must  not 
fail  to. recognize  that  we  are  dealing  here  with  tre- 
mendous social  forces  and  with  developmental  tend- 
encies striving,  beyond  all  human  range,  for  the 
attainment  of  unknown  higher  ideals.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  race  is  from  bisexualism  to  monosexual- 
ism.  Even  the  "genuine"  homosexuality  as  we  know 
it  today  everywhere  is  a  proof  in  favor  of  this  con- 
tention. 

For  if  homosexuality  were  an  inborn  trait,  as 
Hirschfeld  and  his  pupils  maintain,  it  would  be  the 
pattern-type  of  health  and  homosexuals  would  show 
no  repressed  heterosexuality ;  there  would  be  no  mor- 


Sexual  Monotheism  189 

phinists,  no  drinkers,  and  no  dipsomaniacs  5  among 
them.  Their  number  may  not  be  large,  but  that  is 
because  the  uranists*  homosexuality  is  already  a 
compromise,  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  nature,  and 
of  the  psyche,  to  escape  the  insolvable  bisexual  con- 
flict. The  very  fact  that  all  neurotics  represent 

§  Hirschfeld  naturally  traces  this  morbid  tendency  back  to 
the  social  ostracism  of  the  homosexual.  In  my  opinion  that 
is  a  forced  explanation.  The  very  proneness  of  the  homo- 
sexuals to  affective  disorders,  their  heightened  sensibility, 
their  morbid  irritability,  their  endogenous  depression  prove 
that  all  homosexuals  are  severe  neurotics.  Hirschfeld  may 
be  able  to  trace  the  homosexual's  acute  outbreaks  of  affec- 
tive psychoses  back  to  the  actual  conflicts.  But  it  is  impossible 
to  link  this  heightened  affectivity  to  the  feminine  attitude  of 
the  urnings.  For  if  it  were  so,  how  could  we  explain  the 
equally  distressing  analogous  disorders  among  the  urlindsf 
Hirschfeld  refers  to  the  anxiety  states  of  the  homosexuals  (p. 
916)  and  expressly  states: 

"This  very  condition  is  found  frequently  also  among  homo- 
sexuals who  are  psychically  normal  so  far  as  their  home  rela- 
tions are  concerned." 

No — they  are  not  normal  with  regard  to  home  relations, 
they  are  severe  neurotics  on  account  of  the  repression  of  their 
heterosexuality.  Superficial  appearances  are  deceptive  and 
many  a  person  who  appears  outwardly  to  be  the  picture  of 
health,  a  well  balanced  temperament,  is  inwardly  the  victim 
of  a  serious  neurosis.  .  .  .  Hirschfeld  refers  further  to  the 
homosexual's  proneness  to  persecution  manias  and  to  delusions 
of  reference.  Concerning  homosexual  women  he  states: 

"Compelled  against  their  inclination  to  fulfill  their  marital 
duties  the  homosexual  women  become  very  nervous  and,  in 
addition  to  anxiety  attacks,  they  suffer  severe  depres- 
sions." .  .  . 

How  does  Hirschfeld  know  that  the  depressions  are  due  to 
the  enforced  fulfillment  of  marital  duties?  I  know  homosexual 
women  who  are  divorced  and  suffer  even  more;  I  know  homo- 
sexual unmarried  women,  who  are  as  neurotic  as  the  married 
women,  and,  like  the  latter,  suffer  of  serious  depressions.  All 
these  facts  prove  that  the  homosexual  pays  for  his  mono- 
sexuality  just  as  dearly  as  the  neurotic  monosexual  who  is 
heterosexual. 


190  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

retrogressions  shows  that  the  race  is  advancing 
towards  monosexuality.  The  neurotic,  as  a  bisexual 
being,  might  stand  for  an  earlier  developmental 
phase,  if  the  cultural  standards  of  morality  would 
not  hinder.  When  he  attempts  it  (like,  for  instance, 
Oscar  Wilde)  he  draws  upon  himself  the  deadly 
scorn  of  his  fellowmen ;  he  is  ostracized  as  a  citizen. 
Homosexuality  leads  but  seldom  to  paranoia  when 
associated  with  heterosexuality,  as  happens  in  the 
reverse  instance, — heterosexuals  trying  to  repress 
their  homosexuality.  That  in  itself  shows  homo- 
sexuality to  be  a  neurosis, — the  premonitory  phase 
of  the  paranoiac  psychosis.  When  paranoia  breaks 
out,  the  homosexual  holds  to  the  delusion  that  he 
belongs  to  the  opposite  sex  and  may  go  so  far  as 
to  disregard  his  genitalia  and  to  acquire  the  feeling 
that  he  is  physically  changed.  The  paranoia  at- 
tempts to  round  out  physically  the  delusion  of  sexual 
transformation  it  has  initiated  psychically.  The 
wish  of  the  male  homosexual:  "I  want  to  be  a 
woman!"  is  fulfilled  in  paranoia.  In  that  state  he 
finds  a  thousand  proofs  that  he  is  a  woman.  Many 
such  cases  have  been  described  especially  by  Krafft- 
Ebing,  who  has  called  them  "metamorphosis  sexualis 
paranoica."  The  subjects  imagine  that  they  have 
the  monthly  flow  because  they  have  the  nose-bleed 
every  four  weeks  (this  happens  also  with  non- 
paranoia  urnings)) —  they  have  a  flow  from  the  lower 
parts  for  five  days  at  every  full  moon.  A  patient 


Monosexuality  191 

of  Krafft-Ebing's  relates  (Obs.  134,  p.  245): 
"Every  four  weeks  at  the  full  moon  I  have  for  5  days 
the  molimina,  like  any  woman,  physically  and  men- 
tally, only  I  do  not  flow, — but  I  have  a  sensation  of 
discharging  fluid,  a  feeling  of  fullness  about  the 
'genitals  and  the  lower  part  of  the  body  (within)  ; 
a  very  pleasant  time  it  is,  especially  later  (in  a 
couple  of  days)  when  the  physiologic  craving  for 
procreation  looms  forth  with  its  all-pervading 
womanly  force."  Another  paranoiac  claims  that 
he  has  always  been  woman,  but  when  he  was  a  child 
a  French  magician  had  miraculously  endowed  him 
with  male  organs  and,  with  a  certain  salve,  hindered 
the  development  of  his  breasts.  A  girl  under  my 
observation  felt  her  penis,  pointed  to  the  hairs  on 
her  face,  and  thought  she  was  a  bewitched  male. 
But  she  could  feel  her  penis  growing  within  and 
almost  coming  through. 

The  following  statement  by  the  highest  expert  on 
homosexuality  shows  that  the  repression  of  hetero- 
sexuality  may  have  serious  effects  upon  the  homo- 
sexual,— it  may  drive  him  to  drink,  or  into  a  delusion 
of  persecution: 

"I  have  seen,  in  the  homosexual,  states  of  pre- 
cordial  anxiety  with  strong  vasomotor  excitation  as 
serious  as  such  conditions  could  be.  Next  to 
anxiety  neurosis,  an  occasional  consequence  of  absti- 
nence seems  to  me  to  be  the  occurrence  of  a  sort  of 
persecution  mania  which  is  rather  difficult  to  deter- 


192  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

mine  whether  it  belongs  to  the  compulsive  neuroses 
or  is  actually  a  part  of  the  picture  of  paranoia. 
Such  persons  imagine  everybody  suspects  their 
homosexuality;  they  look  at  their  hands  and  laugh 
sheepishly  because  they  wear  no  engagement  or 
marriage  ring;  at  restaurants  persons  sitting  at 
neighboring  tables  whisper  and  knowingly  nod 
among  themselves  as  they  talk  about  the  'einge- 
fleischten  Junggesellen' ;  porters  and  waiters  at 
hotels  'catch  on'  to  'what  is  up5  and  treat  them 
either  more  or  less  attentively  than  other  customers ; 
passers-by  on  the  street  comment  on  their  tripping 
gait;  in  short,  they  feel  that  they  are  watched 
everywhere  and  are  uncomfortably  self-conscious; 
some  blush  continually,  others  become  morbidly  sus- 
picious and  timid,  others  again — and  that  is  the 
worst — take  to  drink.  Convinced  of  the  truthful- 
ness of  their  notions  and  refractory  in  their  attitude 
towards  the  physician,  patients  of  this  type  make  up 
their  minds  late  and  only  after  considerable  struggle, 
to  consult  a  physician  and  even  then  they  often  do 
it  under  an  assumed  name.  If  the  ideas  of  perse- 
cution have  already  persisted  for  a  long  time,  the 
condition  is  hardly  one  that  can  be  influenced  by 
treatment, — in  any  case  it  requires  the  greatest  skill 
and  patience  on  the  part  of  the  physician  as  well  as 
his  whole  therapeutic  armamentarium,  of  which 
psychotherapy  and  hydrotherapy  are  most  impor- 


Self-reproach  193 

tant  means,  while  drugs,  rather  excessively  favored 
nowadays,  should  be  used  but  sparingly."  (Hirsch- 
feld,  loc.  cit.,  p.  455.) 

This  observation  of  Hirschfeld's  discloses  the 
homosexual's  deep  feeling  of  self-reproach  which 
,  must  be  ascribed  to  hidden  criminality  rather  than 
to  the  homosexuality.  Perhaps  that  fusion  of  homo- 
sexuality with  criminality,  of  pathologic  self-love 
and  repressed  hatred,  that  incapacity  for  true  love, 
is  the  reason  why  men  struggle  against  monosexu- 
ality  and  why  innumerable  victims  fall  in  that 
struggle,  their  refined  souls  crushed  by  the  conflict. 
Just  as  we  no  longer  have  the  gods  of  antiquity — 
men  with  female  bosoms  and  women  with  a  tremen- 
dous phallus — just  as  we  have  accepted  the  division 
of  God  into  three  components  (man,  woman,  and 
child)  which  unitedly  represent  but  one  force,  so  we 
must  choose,  in  our  day,  our  ideal,  That  is  the 
monotheism  of  sexuality, — more  unyielding  and 
strict  than  religious  monotheism.  "To  love  means 
to  find  one's  God,"  I  stated.  But  there  must  be  no 
other  gods  besides  that  one.  This  struggle  for  the 
single  god  of  love  sums  up  the  erotic  tragedies  of 
our  cultural  development:  the  struggle  for  the  true 
ideal  and  for  monogamy  which  for  the  present  ap- 
pears the  utmost  sexual  ideal  of  our  current  cultural 
level.  Between  the  primitive  man's  pansexualism 
and  the  monosexuality  of  modern  man  may  be  found 


194  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

all  the  developmental  phases  and  inhibitions  which 
manifest  themselves  as  neuroses,  paraphilias,  drunk- 
enness, psychoses,  etc. 

The  analysis  of  jealousy  has  shown  us  clearly 
that  with  the  outbreak  of  the  repressed  homosex- 
uality criminality,  too,  comes  to  the  surface.  The 
patients  whose  histories  we  have  recorded,  fight, 
carry  revolvers  and  threaten  murder.  Many  a 
jealousy  murder  is  due  to  the  instinctive  asocial 
cravings.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  re- 
pression keeps  down  the  homosexuality  as  well  as 
the  other  paraphiliac  instincts,  including  the  crimi- 
nal tendencies.  When  the  repressed  homosexuality 
breaks  through  the  protecting  covers  and  out  of 
the  unconscious,  it  carries  along  and  brings  to  sur- 
face all  the  repressed  antagonistic  cravings.  This 
mental  mechanism  explains  the  gruesome  crimes 
which  the  paranoiacs  commit  who  believe  themselves 
pursued  or  threatened.  They  project  to  their  sur- 
roundings not  only  the  pursuit  with  homosexual 
intent  but  their  subjective  criminal  tendencies  as 
well.  Someone  is  after  them  to  kill  them  ...  it 
really  means :  "7  want  to  kill  and  therefore  I  assume, 
that  others  want  to  kill  me." 

Looking  upon  homosexuality  as  an  archaic  symp- 
tom, a  regressive  manifestation,  we  may  understand 
also  that  the  incest,  in  all  its  forms,  must  play  a 
greater  role  among  homosexuals  than  among  the 
normals.  The  urning,  in  point  of  psychic  pro- 


Urning  and  Urlind  195 

gression,  is  nearer  the  ancient  (Edipus  and  the  ur- 
lind  is  nearer  ancient  Elektra  than  the  normal  man. 
Their  will  to  power  also  manifests  itself  through 
stronger  tendencies.  The  very  repression  of  his 
heterosexual  component  shows  that  the  homosexual 
tries  to  achieve  mastery  over  self,  and  is  a  proof 
of  the  one-sided  emphasis  of  his  stubborn  will  to 
self-control.  The  will  to  power  breaks  out  in  vio- 
lent, affectively  stressed  jealousy  deeds,  which 
shows  the  intimate  inner  relations  between  homo- 
sexuality and  sadism, — a  subject  to  which  we  shall 
give  more  careful  consideration  in  our  next  chapter. 


HOMOSEXUALITY    AND     SADISM THE     ANALYSIS    OF    A 

HOMOSEXUAL EARLIEST  MEMORIES FIRST  AC- 
COUNT OF  HIS  ATTITUDE FEAR  OF  TUBERCULO- 
SIS  HIS  ATTITUDE  TOWARDS  HIS  PARENTS FIRST 

DREAM DREAMS    OF    URINALS ANAL    EROTICISM 

COPROPHAGIA THE    MOTHER    AS    A   TYRANT 

TRANSVESTITISM AN        IMPORTANT        DREAM 

VOYEUR    AND    EXHIBITIONIST OTHER    DREAMS 

POEMS       TO       THE       MOTHER MATERNAL       BODY 

DREAMS SADISTIC       PHANTASIES A      SPERMATO- 

ZOAN   DREAM THE  DREAM  ABOUT  WILD  BEARS 

SUMMARIZATION  OF  THE  ANALYTIC  DATA  IN 
THE  CASE THE  FORMULA  OF  HOMOSEXUALITY. 


Man  missversteht  das  Raubtier  und  den  Raub- 
menschen  (z.  b.  Cesare  Borgia)  grundlich,  man 
missversteht  die  "Natur,"  so  lange  man  noch  nach 
einer  "Krankhaftigkeit"  in  Grande  dieser  gesundes- 
ten  alter  tropischen  Untiere  und  Gewdchse  sucht, 
oder  gar  nach  einer  ihnen  eingeborenen  "Holle" 
we  es  bi»  her  fast  aUe  Moralisten  gethan  haben. 

— Nietzsche. 


The  nature  of  the  wild  beast  and  of  predatory 
man, — Cesare  Borgia,  for  instance, — is  misunder- 
stood, "Nature"  herself  is  misunderstood,  so  long  as 
we  look  for  "morbidity"  back  of  these  healthiest  of 
att  monstrosities  and  excrescences,  or  for  some  "in- 
ner depravity"  peculiar  to  them, — as  most  moral- 
ists have  done  thus  far. 

— Nietzsche. 

Our  investigation  of  the  problem  of  jealousy  has 
led  us  repeatedly  to  the  relationship  between  homo- 
sexuality and  sadism,  a  subject  we  have  already 
considered  briefly  in  connection  with  the  repression- 
symptoms  of  the  homosexuals.  We  have  succeeded 
in  proving  the  sadistic  trend  of  homosexuals  in  most 
of  the  cases  which  we  have  examined.  This  rela- 
tionship is  so  typical  that  I  am  surprised  previous 
investigators  have  not  been  impressed  by  the  regu- 
larity of  its  occurrence.  The  frequency  of  abnor- 
mal sexual  cravings  among  homosexuals  has  been 
pointed  out  by  many  physicians  and  has  been  inter- 
preted by  them  as  indicative  of  a  degenerative  trend. 
But  since  the  physicians  were  satisfied  with  their 
patients'  account  and  they  were  unfamiliar  with  the 

199 


200  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

technique  of  psychoanalysis,  this  constant  relation- 
ship escaped  their  observation.  The  next  chapter 
will  be  devoted  to  a  complete  history  of  such  cases 
and  in  that  connection  we  shall  see  more  clearly  how 
unsatisfactory  the  patients'  first  account  of  their 
own  trouble  must  be.  I  have  already  mentioned 
that  many  investigators  suspect  that  the  homo- 
sexuals decidedly  lack  veracity.  Moreover  all  neu- 
rotics drive  their  sadistic  tendencies  back  into  the 
unconscious.  Their  repressed  tendencies  are  among 
the  persistently  overlooked  features, — the  uncon- 
sidered  inventory, — of  the  homosexual's  psyche. 

The  sadistic  tendency  breaks  to  the  foreground 
of  consciousness  only  occasionally  and  then  it  lends 
its  characteristic  coloring  to  the  paraphilic  dis- 
order. In  such  cases  the  sadistic  trend  is  not 
directed  only  against  the  opposite  sex.  Sexual  lust 
and  cruelty  are  inextricably  interwoven;  the  anti- 
social cravings  cannot  be  sublimated ;  1  the  ailing 
individual  becomes  a  danger  to  the  community,  he 
gets  into  conflict  with  the  law,  and  lands  in  jail  or 
in  the  asylum.  For  such  cases  show  us  a  morbidly 
enlarged  and  distorted  picture  of  the  average  homo- 
sexual. 

The  following  observation  by  Fleischmann2  may 
serve  as  an  illustration  of  this  fact: 

lCf.  Stekel,  Berufswahl  und  Neurose,  Gross'  Archiv,  vol. 
XIX. 

1  Beitrdge  zur  Lehre  von  der  kontrarer  Sexualempfindung 
Zeittchr.  f.  Psychol,  u.  Neurol,  vol.  VII,  1911. 


Sadism  201 

82.  "Physically  the  patient  shows  the  early 
signs  of  Basedow's  disease.  His  temperament  is 
very  uneven,  he  shifts  from  one  extreme  to  another. 
He  is  suspicious,  very  mendacious  and  very  irrit- 
able— for  instance,  he  struck  his  father  in  his  rage. 
He  is  not  particularly  religious.  His  whole  con- 
duct shows  a  very  weak  will  and  lack  of  energy. 
Since  his  17th  year  the  patient  has  been  addicted 
to  excessive  drink.  His  sexual  history  reveals  the 
following  facts :  As  a  boy,  10  years  of  age,  he  came 
across  a  book  containing  an  illustration  of  a  scene 
of  violence  (beating)  which  gave  him  great  pleas- 
ure. Ever  since  he  thinks  of  that  picture  placing 
himself  in  the  position  of  the  one  being  beaten. 
The  mere  word  'Peitschen,'  cuffing,  has  something 
appealing,  something  exciting  about  it  to  his  mind. 
From  the  very  beginning  the  patient  thought  this 
was  an  unhealthy  trait  and  was  uncomfortably  self- 
conscious  over  it.  At  that  time  he  took  a  journey 
into  the  country  with  his  mother.  They  passed 
over  a  river  and  he  saw  standing  on  the  shore  a 
naked  man  who  was  bathing.  That  scene  stuck  in 
his  mind  for  months.  At  11  years  of  age  the  pa- 
tient asked  his  father  to  punish  him  because  he  had 
an  impure  conscience,  but  did  not  attain  his  aim. 
His  fancies  were  growing.  He  liked  to  put  himself 
in  Captain  Dreyfus'  place,  wanted  to  experience 
the  latter's  degradation  and  suffering.  So  con- 
stantly was  his  mind  preoccupied  with  his  fancies 


202  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

that  the  boy  neglected  his  school  studies;  he  be- 
came distraught,  and  suffered  headaches.  At  15 
years  of  age  the  boy  began  to  enact  his  phantasies ; 
he  undressed  in  a  room,  tied  his  hands  with  a  rope 
and  suspended  himself.  He  also  tied  weights  to  his 
lower  limbs.  This  produced  orgasm  and  ejacula- 
tion. An  illustration  of  tortures  which  he  found  in 
an  illustrated  work  on  world  history  suggested  to 
him  new  methods.  He  was  specially  fond  of  staging 
scenes  of  crucifixion.  In  all  these  scenes  the  boy 
fancied  that  he  was  the  victim  of  all  the  imaginary 
tortures.  He  never  connected  these  fancies  of  tor- 
ture with  one  sex  or  the  other.  He  had  sexual 
gratification  without  reflecting  particularly  about 
sex.  The  gratifications  led  to  orgasm  and  ejacu- 
lation. Then  the  craving  for  self-torture  quieted 
down  somewhat,  his  imagination  cooled  off  and  the 
patient  began  to  seek  sexual  gratification  through 
masturbation.  He  drew  his  penis  downwards  and 
backwards  between  his  limbs  and  rocked  his  pelvis 
sideways.  During  these  acts  there  arose  the  first 
homosexual  fancies.  While  masturbating,  which  he 
did  at  first  regularly  once  every  four  weeks,  later 
daily  and  afterwards,  five  to  ten  times  in  succession,8 
he  pictured  to  himself  the  hips  of  a  young  boy.  At 

3 1  have  at  the  present  time  under  observation  a  soldier  who 
for  about  three  weeks  masturbated  15  times  ( !)  daily.  Ad- 
vanced hypochondriac.  The  motive  seems  to  have  been  the  de- 
velopment of  a  neurosis  so  he  would  be  freed  of  military 
service. 


Sadism  203 

first  that  fancy,  without  any  further  details,  was 
enough.  Later  he  fancied  carrying  out  coitus  intra 
femora.  His  contrary  sexual  feelings  showed  them- 
selves also  in  other  ways.  For  instance,  he  took 
such  a  strong  fancy  to  a  younger  comrade  that  he 
resolved  to  stay  voluntarily  back  one  year  so  as  to 
sit  in  the  same  classroom  with  that  boy.  On  ac- 
count of  his  lack  of  veracity  his  father  put  him  in 
a  training  institution;  there  his  comrades  initiated 
him  into  sex  matters  and  he  learned  mutual  mas- 
turbation. He  was  not  aware  of  being  untruthful 
because  he  had  lost  the  faculty  of  discerning  be- 
tween phantasy  and  fact.  At  17  years  of  age  the 
patient  picked  up  a  peasant  girl  and  induced  her 
to  sleep  with  him ;  but  she  did  not  allow  coitus ;  the 
patient  thinks  that  at  that  time  he  would  have 
found  coitus  pleasurable.4  During  that  period  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  abusing  daily  one  of  his  best 
friends, — in  his  phantasy.  He  had  the  latter  stand 
naked  before  his  eyes  and  played  with  his  private 
parts.  In  his  phantasy  he  felt  all  over  the  fellow's 
body,  finally  advancing  to  a  complete  homosexual 
act,  always  fancying  a  one-sided  active  immissio 
penis  in  anum;  at  the  same  time  he  masturbated  in 
the  manner  described  above.  After  one  year  he  was 

4  The  history  of  the  same  patient,  as  given  by  Ziemcke, 
refers  to  the  same  episode  as  follows:  "At  17  years  of 
age  the  first  coitus  with  a  peasant  girl,  pleasurable,  no  dis- 
order." A  proof  that  the  heterosexual  episodes  are  always 
corrected  in  memory  and  modified  in  favor  of  a  homosexual 
predisposition. 


204  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

no  longer  able  to  control  himself.  He  prevailed  on 
his  friend  to  undress  before  him  and  lie,  face  down, 
on  the  sofa.  Then  the  patient  crawled  on  top  and 
attempted  immissio;  he  did  not  succeed  on  account 
of  a  sudden  feeling  of  nausea.  He  desisted,  but 
ejaculated  ante  port  as;  afterwards  he  was  ashamed 
of  it.  The  patient  parted  from  this  friend  later  as 
the  result  of  a  quarrel.  Then  the  sadistic  tenden- 
cies again  came  to  surface.  He  imagined  all  sorts 
of  tortures,  reserving  to  himself  merely  the  role  of 
devising  the  punishment  to  be  applied.  The  actual 
carrying  out  of  the  deeds  he  left  to  other  imaginary 
persons  conjured  up  for  the  purpose.  He  chose  his 
victims  preferably  from  among  his  younger  com- 
rades. Patient  had  devised  36  different  kinds  of 
torture  assigning  to  each  a  written  symbol.  He 
selected  by  lot  (drawing  numbers)  the  intended 
victim,  as  well  as  the  torture  to  be  applied  and  the 
instruments  therefor.  The  patient  played  this  game 
for  hours. 

He  kept  this  up  a  couple  of  years.  Suddenly  the 
whole  thing  lost  its  charm  for  him.  His  phantasy 
cooled  down.  Finally  he  gave  up  the  game  alto- 
gether. At  18,  the  patient  attempted  for  the  sec- 
ond time  normal  coitus.  He  had  an  erection  but 
premature  ejaculation  ante  portas.  A  third  at- 
tempt failed  on  account  of  drunkenness.  Again  he 
reverted  to  his  masturbation  habit,  his  thoughts 
during  the  act  once  more  centered  on  the  hips  of  a 


Sadism  205 

young  boy;  this  was  a  fetich  to  him.  Masochistic 
fancies  he  entertained  no  longer;  but  he  dwelt  pro- 
fusely on  homosexual  phantasies.  Later  the  patient 
thought  of  coitus  inter  femora  with  boys.  He  be- 
came very  friendly  with  a  14-year-old  boy,  kissed 
him,  and  allowed  the  boy  to  touch  his  own  genitals. 
But  when  he  found  that  the  boy  had  hairy  hips  his 
passion  for  the  boy  cooled  off  at  once.  During  that 
time  the  patient  (20  years  old)  entertained  thoughts 
of  suicide  because  he  felt  that  his  life  was  a  fail- 
ure. An  attempt  at  analysis  only  excited  him 
worse  instead  of  quieting  him.  Again  the  patient 
linked  himself  in  intimate  friendship  with  a  14-year- 
old  boy;  as  that  boy  resented  any  physical  display 
of  affection,  his  attachment  remained  purely  pla- 
tonic.  Every  now  and  then  patient  masturbated 
fancying  he  was  carrying  out  coitus  inter  femora 
with  his  friend.  His  sadistic  fancies  again  broke 
to  the  surface.  He  became  more  and  more  restless, 
enticed  a  boy  (under  a  slight  pretext)  to  visit  him 
and  devised  most  refined  ways  of  abusing  him;  for 
instance,  hanging  over  the  boy's  back  with  the  hands 
clasped  around  his  neck,  or  beating  him  over  hips 
and  buttocks  with  a  reed  cane ;  for  every  stroke  the 
boy  was  to  receive  a  sum  of  money.  As  a  conse- 
quence of  this  action  the  patient  was  brought  to 
the  clinic.5 

'Regarding  this  occurrence  Ziemcke  relates:    "Towards  the 
last  of  his  studies  at  Kiel  he  brought  to  his  room  a  12-year- 


206  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Fleischmann,  in  his  psychologic  examination  of 
this  case,  lays  stress  particularly  on  the  significance 
of  trauma  and  ascribes  to  the  masturbation  a  pre- 
dominant role  in  the  psychogenesis  of  the  para- 
philia:  "This  case  proves  clearly  that  the  various 
sexual  anomalies  differ  only  in  their  sexual  objec- 
tive and  aim, — their  developmental  interrelationship 
— but  that  the  mechanism  of  their  development  must 
be  looked  upon  as  identical." 

But  of  particular  significance  in  this  case  is  the 
constant  association  of  sadism  and  masochism,  a 
condition  with  which  but  few  sexologists  thus  far 
have  been  impressed  as  a  bipolar  expression  of  the 
same  underlying  tendency;  next,  the  tremendous 

old  boy  from  the  street  under  the  pretext  of  carrying  some 
books  for  him.  When  the  boy  returned  he  suggested  making 
some  experiments  on  him,  tapped  him  first  on  the  knee  cap, 
then  had  him  take  off  his  stockings  and  kneel  on  the  edge  of 
the  lowermost  cabinet  drawer;  next  he  forced  the  boy  to  stand 
up  stripped  to  the  waist  while  he  pricked  him  with  a  pen  in 
the  armpit  and  under  the  fingernails.  After  that  he  hung 
him  by  a  rope  tied  around  his  hands,  but  the  rope  broke. 
Then  he  had  the  boy  lie  down  on  the  sofa,  lowered  his  trousers 
so  as  to  expose  the  hips  and  gluteal  region  and  proposed  to 
pay  the  boy  5  pfennig  for  every  one  of  50  cane  strokes. 
After  the  43rd  stroke  the  boy  could  not  endure  the  pain  any 
longer,  so  he  increased  the  pay  to  10  pfennig  and  gave  him  5 
additional  strokes.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  the  man  had 
been  drinking  hard  the  night  before  carousing  until  daylight 
and  according  to  his  own  testimony  he  was  very  nervous  next 
day  and  had  palpitation  of  the  heart.  He  also  stated  that  he 
had  acted  impulsively;  he  remembered  well  all  the  details  of 
the  occurrence  but  everything  took  place  as  in  a  haze.  After 
the  deed  he  had  a  feeling  of  relief,  his  usual  excitement  and 
unrest  promptly  subsided.  Examination  showed  nothing  phys- 
ically abnormal  and  absence  of  any  serious  intellectual  defect 
as  well. 


Sadism  and  Masochism  207 

sense  of  guilt  which  no  masochist  lacks;  further, 
the  defense  reaction  against  the  homosexual  ten- 
dencies: disgust  of  the  immissio  penis  in  anum,  and 
the  unpleasant  feelings  roused  by  the  sight  of  the 
boy's  hairy  thighs. 

This  patient  also  illustrates  the  overwhelming 
role  of  the  father  in  the  psychogenesis  of  homo- 
sexuality and  the  recurrence  of  the  "specific  scene." 
At  11  years  of  age  he  requested  his  father  to  beat 
him  because  he  felt  guilty.  At  25  years  he  carried 
out  that  very  act  on  a  boy  under  a  very  refined 
form.  One  must  be  a  victim  of  psychic  blindness 
not  to  see  that  he  there  played  the  role  of  the 
father  who  punishes  the  child.  The  development  of 
this  attitude  may  be  surmised  to  have  taken  place 
approximately  as  follows :  His  primary  phantasy 
was  undoubtedly  generated  by  the  wish  that  his 
father  be  tender  with  him.  He  wanted  to  replace 
the  mother  in  his  father's  affection  (coitus  inter 
femora).  Probably  jealousy  thoughts  against  the 
mother,  revenge  fancies  against  the  father  on  ac- 
count of  unrequited  love ;  these  mental  sins  gave  rise 
to  his  feeling  of  guilt,  as  displayed  in  his  masochism. 
For  as  I  shall  prove  in  another  work  6  in  this  Series, 
sadism  is  always  the  primary  attitude  and  is  trans- 
posed into  masochism  in  consequence  of  the  feeling 

of  guilt,  or  else  the  two  appear  side  by  side. 

*  The  volume  on  Sadism  and  Masochism,  in  my  Series  on  the 
Disorders  of  the  Instincts  and  of  the  Emotions.  English  ver- 
sion by  Van  Teslaar. 


208  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

I  must  comment  on  Fleischmann's  remark  that 
psychoanalysis  only  disturbed  the  patient  and  did 
not  cure  him.  It  is  not  proper  to  ascribe  all  fail- 
ures of  psychoanalysis  to  the  method.  Psycho- 
analysis is  a  difficult  art  and  will  always  be  con- 
ducted expertly  only  by  a  relatively  small  number 
of  specialists.  Not  everything  that  goes  under  the 
name  of  psychoanalysis  is  genuine.  Often  the  pa- 
tient submits  for  a  few  days  to  psychoanalysis  then 
drops  it  (when  a  successful  psychoanalysis  may  re- 
quire several  months)  and  claims  it  did  him  no 
good.7  A  thorough  psychoanalysis  of  the  above 
case  would  have  certainly  led  to  a  deeper  under- 
standing of  the  mental  mechanism  involved  and 
would  have  revealed  much  new  light. 

Undoubtedly  various  sexual  repressed  tendencies 
may  become  manifest  during  psychoanalytic  treat- 
ment. That  is  even  necessary, — they  must  be  met 
and  overcome  with  the  consultant's  aid.  The  next 
case  below  is  an  illustration  that  latent  homosex- 
uality may  become  manifest  after  a  few  seances  in 
the  course  of  psychoanalysis. 

T  At  a  meeting  of  the  medical  society  in  Odessa,  a  colleague 
was  presented  as  one  who  had  been  treated  unsuccessfully  by 
me.  He  suffered  compulsions  of  a  most  serious  character 
and  was  one  week  under  my  care.  I  had  proposed  three 
months.  Nevertheless  he  was  brought  forth  as  proof  of  the 
inefficacy  of  psychoanalysis.  It  happened  that  colleague  Dr. 
W.  was  present,  and  he  knew  that  the  alleged  analysis  was 
of  one  week's  duration.  He  was  able  to  apprise  the  meeting 
of  the  fact.  In  a  few  weeks  that  honorable  sick  physician 
placed  himself  under  the  professional  care  of  Dr.  W.  .  .  . 


Latent  Homosexuality  209 

83.  Mr.  Delta,  medical  student,  24  years  of  age, 
hereditary  history  negative,  physically  healthy  in 
every  respect,  suffers  of  depressions  and  inability 
to  concentrate  on  his  work.  The  most  important 
facts  bearing  on  his  anamnesis  and  his  later  history 
he  relates  in  the  following  letter: 

"From  my  earliest  childhood  I  have  been  extra- 
ordinarily sensuous.  It  was  the  custom  (an  evil 
one)  in  our  family  for  the  children  to  crawl  into 
the  parents'  bed  in  the  morning.  I  naturally  al- 
ways went  to  mother's  bed,  while  my  sisters  pre- 
ferred to  go  to  father's  bed.  We  children  also  went 
to  one  another's  bed  and  on  such  occasions  I  was 
in  the  habit  of  trying  to  crawl  with  my  head  under 
the  covers  with  the  intention,  frankly,  of  carrying 
out  cunnilingus  especially  on  my  sister  N.,  who  was 
already  married.  Why  I  preferred  N.,  at  the  time 
I  do  not  understand  clearly,  possibly  because  she 
was  receptive  towards  me  and  such  practices  are 
possible  only  if  the  female  partner  is  at  least  uncon- 
sciously agreeable  to  it.  I  was  5  years  of  age  at 
the  time.  I  have  also  carried  on  cunnilingus  on  my 
sister  B.,  at  15  years  of  age,  while  she  was  asleep. 
These  fancies  later  played  a  tremendous  role  in  my 
mental  life,  causing  also  a  profuse  sweating  of  the 
palms  of  my  hands  which  disappeared  in  part  when 
I  became  consciously  aware  of  them.  The  killing 
of  the  chickens  by  our  cook  produced  an  extraordi- 


210  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

narily  exciting  effect  upon  me.  When  the  cook 
gripped  the  chicken  between  her  limbs  near  her 
genital  region  to  kill  it  she  excited  me  to  the  point 
of  a  true  orgasm.  I  tried  to  imitate  her  by  catch- 
ing flies  and  squeezing  them  to  death  between  my 
limbs,  near  my  genitals,  or  by  drowning  them  in 
urine.  My  attitude  towards  friends,  colleagues,  etc., 
was  also  extremely  peculiar.  I  cultivated  prefer- 
ably the  friendship  of  children  of  the  proletarian 
class,  while  children  of  my  own  set  never  attracted 
me  in  particular,  although  I  was  friendly  with  them. 
Children  of  that  class  also  submitted  more  willingly 
to  various  homosexual  acts,  something  which  I  did 
not  quite  dare  carry  on  with  children  of  my  own  set. 
I  remember  one  boy  in  particular,  with  whom  I 
attempted  coitus  in  os.  I  recall  also  a  dream  of  my 
childhood  years:  An  awful  butchery  is  going  on  in 
our  court  yard  and  my  sister  W.,  and  a  certain  man 
are  in  it.  I  am  pursued  by  both,  they  throw  me 
on  the  ground,  and  I  am  killed  with  a  single  blow 
on  the  forehead.  I  may  add  that  killing  invoked  in 
my  mind  the  picture  of  the  aggressor  sitting  astride 
over  the  victim's  face  and  mouth,  rider-fashion. 
That  at  any  rate  was  the  manner  in  which  we  boys 
killed  one  another.  Girls  of  my  age  were  a  torture 
to  me  but  to  older  girls  and  adult  women  I  extended 
my  greatest  admiration, — a  sentiment  which  was 
purely  platonic  with  me  at  the  time.  At  the  public 
school  I  fell  in  love  with  every  strict  teacher,  once 


Masochistic  Fancies  211 

I  was  in  love  with  two  of  them  at  the  same  time.  I 
wanted  the  two  to  punish  me  and  that,  in  a  very 
strange  way.  I  wanted  to  be  taken  to  bed  and  to 
be  squeezed  to  death  by  them,8 — naturally  between 
their  genitalia.  The  immictio  in  os  by  a  woman  was 
also  a  favorite  form  of  torture  in  my  day  dreaming. 
Now  comes  puberty.  I  consider  the  starting 
point  of  my  later  neurosis  the  fact  that  I  cared  for 
contact  only  with  persons  who  could  offer  me  some 
sexual  satisfaction  and  that  even  as  a  child.  Dur- 
ing puberty  this  peculiarity  showed  even  more 
markedly.  For  a  time  I  preserved  my  platonic  ad- 
miration of  women  older  than  myself.  Young  girls 
were  still  repulsive  to  me  until  I  fell  passionately  in 
love  with  one.  I  followed  that  little  one  for  years 
like  a  shadow,  but  in  spite  of  the  encouragement  she 
gave  me  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  speak  to  her. 
When  I  finally  did  so,  I  saw  in  a  flash  the  reason  for 
my  remarkable  hesitation,  I  did  not  say  what  I 
started  to  say,  the  whole  charm  was  gone  in  an  in- 
stant,— she  seemed  to  me  common  and  inferior, — 
although  my  objective  judgment  at  other  times  told 
me  precisely  the  reverse.  In  short,  my  affection  re- 
awakened in  its  earlier  intensity  only  some  time  after 
I  recovered  from  the  shock  of  my  personal  acquain- 
tance with  her.  At  that  time  I  became  very  friendly 
with  a  certain  colleague,  Joseph  Z.  The  tie  that 

•  An  "infantile  sexual  theory,"  in  which  coitus  is  conceived 
sadistically  as  a  squeezing. 


212  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

linked  us  was  that  very  bewitching  dark  girl.  He 
also  was  in  love  with  her  (one  would  have  thought 
that  this  would  have  broken  our  friendship).  We 
never  tired  admiring  her  charms  between  us  and 
our  friendship  came  to  an  end  only  when  I  dis- 
covered that  he  was  not  true  to  our  idol.  At  the 
same  time  nothing  disgusted  me  during  that  period 
so  much  as  the  sight  of  a  pair  of  lovers.  /  had  the 
feeling  that  a  man  loses  something  of  his  manliness 
and  dignity  through  mtimacy  with  a  woman. 

My  next  friend  was  Herbert.  I  had  few  sexual 
points  of  contact  with  him,  except  that  we  visited 
together  the  red  light  resorts  for  the  first  time  and 
jointly  made  love  to  the  various  inmates.  Herbert 
was  so  witty  a  fellow  that  I  almost  loved  him,  espe- 
cially as  he  was  slavishly  devoted  to  me.  But  my 
neurosis  made  tremendous  leaps  for  the  worse  even 
at  that  time  and  I  became  more  and  more  timid  and 
awkward  in  my  ways  and  when  finally  he  turned  on 
me  with  his  wit  our  friendship  came  to  an  end. 

Next  came  Friedrich.  He  clung  to  me  with  fa- 
natic love,  this  went  on  for  about  three  years,  until 
he  married,  and  then  I  felt  lonely  in  the  world. 
My  beloved  mother  to  whom  I  was  extremely  de- 
voted as  a  child  could  only  try  to  console  me,  but  I 
was  hopelessly  disconsolate.  As  a  child  I  had  been 
inseparable  from  her  for  years ;  Mendelssohn's  well- 
known  Spring  song  brought  tears  to  my  eyes  be- 
cause the  thought  of  a  mother  losing  her  child 


Early  Experiences  213 

seemed  atrocious  to  me.  Although  I  felt  a  great 
measure  of  that  affection  for  mother  which  is  com- 
mon in  every  one's  childhood  experience,  a  certain 
craving  remained  ungratified.  I  became  acquainted 
with  psychoanalysis  and  it  brought  to  my  mind  the 
youthful  perversities  of  my  youth.  I  decided  to 
give  expression  to  my  conscious  instincts  and  I  have 
come  to  the  following  conclusion: 

My  attitude  towards  the  other  sex  will  never  be 
satisfactory,  I  must  stand  either  above  or  below 
woman,  I  must  be  either  hammer  or  anvil,  an  unpre- 
judiced relationship  I  find  impossible,  because  as 
soon  as  I  see  a  pretty  woman  I  lose  my  senses,  and 
would  like  preferably  to  be  at  her  feet  and  obey  her 
like  a  slave.  But  women  do  not  wish  that,  they  want 
to  be  submissive  themselves,  they  want  to  feel  the 
man  above  them.  Intercourse  on  the  level  of 
equality  I  find  tiresome,  so  there  remains  only  sad- 
ism for  me,  through  which,  I  may  confess  frankly, 
I  have  already  enjoyed  pleasant  times.  True  friend- 
ship on  the  basis  of  mutual  love  and  respect  I  am 
capable  of  maintaining  only  with  men,  as  in  my 
childhood." 

This  sounds  like  the  history  of  a  typical  bisexual 
strongly  on  the  way  to  become  a  genuine  homosex- 
ual. Let  us  turn  to  his  psychoanalytic  treatment 
before  we  examine  his  sexual  attitude.  He  went  to 
a  psychoanalyst  who  had  been  recommended  to  him 


214  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

by  Freud.  He  was  wholly  unable  to  work,  impotent 
with  women  at  the  time,  and  had  recourse  to  mas- 
turbation. During  the  first  sitting  he  learned  that 
he  had  been  in  love  with  his  mother.  The  knowledge 
of  this  fact  acted  as  a  "relief,"  according  to  his  tes- 
timony. (He  even  told  it  to  his  mother.)  Shortly 
afterwards  he  had  his  first  successful  coitus  with  a 
woman.  But  the  neurosis  did  not  change  and  in  a 
short  time  he  came  to  me  for  analysis.  I  found  a 
tremendous  resistance  against  the  discovery  of  the 
true  attitude.  He  employed  all  sorts  of  subterfuges 
to  take  up  the  time  during  the  consultation  hours 
and  to  disclose  only  what  he  wanted.  He  soon  ex- 
hausted the  account  of  his  pronounced  sadism  and 
of  his  masochistic  tendencies.  But  concerning  his 
relations  to  his  father  he  was  very  hazy.  He  be- 
came able  to  go  to  work,  attended  the  lectures  and 
turned  once  more  diligently  to  his  studies.  I  saw 
the  hopelessness  of  my  endeavors  and  broke  the 
analysis  under  some  pretext  or  other.  .  .  .  There 
are  patients,  whom  I  have  described  as  the  psycho- 
analytic Ahasverus-type  9  who  are  among  the  most 
thankless  of  subjects  for  our  professional  en- 
deavors. They  rush  from  one  analyst  to  another, 
imploring  the  new  consultant  to  remove  the  last  of 
their  troublous  symptoms,  and  stay  all  the  time 
very  much  as  they  have  been  from  the  beginning. 
They  look  upon  the  analysis,  too,  as  a  test  of 
*  Zentralblatt  fiir  Psychoanalyse,  Vol.  IV. 


The  Ahasverus  Type  215 

power,  they  want  to  triumph  over  their  consultant, 
they  want  to  come  out  stronger  than  he  and — what 
is  most  important — they  do  not  want  to  recognize 
the  real  background  of  their  attitude.  They  stub- 
bornly overlook  the  real  foundation  of  their  neu- 
rotic trouble  and  their  *unwillingness  to  see'  is  made 
worse  by  their  superficial  acquaintance  with  psycho- 
analysis and  their  fragmentary  introspection. 
They  thus  run  from  one  physician  to  another,  criti- 
cize the  first  to  the  second,  the  second  to  a  third, 
the  third  to  a  fourth.  This  conduct  stands  partly 
in  relation  to  their  attitude  towards  the  father, — a 
subject  to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  revert 
more  fully  later. 

It  happened  precisely  as  I  had  surmised.  He 
went  back  to  Freud,  who  recommended  a  third 
analyst,  because  he  refused  stubbornly  to  return  to 
the  first.  After  a  few  months  he  gave  up  the  treat- 
ment and  considered  himself  well.  One  half  year 
later  he  came  back  to  me  and  told  me  that  since 
adopting  exclusively  homosexual  relations  he  was 
entirely  well,  able  to  work,  and  as  lively  "as  a  fish 
in  the  brook."  But  something  still  seemed  to  be 
lacking.  At  my  request  he  wrote  the  account  which 
I  have  given  above,  stating  that  he  had  no  objec- 
tion to  its  publication.  He  added  orally  a  few 
statements  which  I  shall  use  later. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  his  attitude  towards 
woman  is  emphasized  in  his  own  written  statement. 


216  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Either  he  must  torture  or  he  must  be  tortured — he 
can  either  love  or  must  hate,  and  only  to  excess. 
He  is  afraid  of  his  terrific  love  passion.  Therefore 
he  feels  impelled  to  humble  himself  before  woman,  to 
serve  her  as  a  slave,  which  is  his  symbolic  expression 
for  the  longing  after  cunnilingus  and  for  his  willing- 
ness to  submit  to  mictio  in  os.  He  wants  to  serve 
woman  as  a  means  for  the  attainment  of  gratifica- 
tion, as  a  vessel  for  her  excreta,  to  be  a  submissive 
slave  to  all  her  whims.  His  submissiveness  goes  so 
far  that  he  is  willing  to  be  killed  by  woman.  This 
sadistic  transposition  of  this  attitude  signifies: 
only  through  doing  away  with  the  sexual  partner 
one  achieves  complete  mastery  and  may  claim  com- 
plete possession. 

In  his  feeling-attitude  towards  woman  he  vacil- 
lates between  two  extremes :  hatred  to  the  point  of 
annihilation  and  a  love  so  great  as  to  include  the 
willingness  to  be  sacrificed.  Clearly,  he  must  pro- 
tect himself  so  as  not  to  give  way  to  his  hatred 
and  become  a  murderer.  A  deeper  insight  into  the 
parallelogram  of  the  psychic  forces  involved  in  such 
situations  leads  plainly  to  the  conviction  that  the 
instinct  to  live  and  the  will  to  power  prevent  him 
from  subjecting  himself  to  woman  actually  to  the 
point  of  self-annihilation.  His  feeling-attitude  to- 
wards woman  is  too  affective  for  him  to  be  able 
to  reduce  it  to  a  proper  emotional  level.  How 
plain  is  the  significance  of  his  boyhood  experience, 


Fear  of  Degradation  217 

— his  great  passion  for  the  girl  whom  he  followed 
like  a  shadow.  But  he  did  not  dare  to  bring  that 
love  affair  down  to  reality.  He  was  afraid  of  him- 
self, afraid  of  the  subjection.  The  girl  gave  him 
to  understand  that  he  need  not  belittle  himself  at 
all.  In  his  eyes  that  was  enough  for  her  to  lose  her 
charm  after  he  became  acquainted  with  her;  she 
attracted  him  again  only  after  all  danger  of  his 
trying  himself  out  with  her  was  over.  He  con- 
sidered himself  plain  looking  and  thought  he  could 
not  attract  any  one.  He  hated  the  women  on  ac- 
count of  their  charm,  because  he  himself  would  have 
liked  to  have  been  a  pretty  woman. 

He  also  cleverly  covered  that  wish  by  beginning 
to  overstress  the  value  of  manliness.  "I  had  a  feel- 
ing," he  states,  "that  a  man  loses  something  of  his 
manliness  and  dignity  through  his  intimacy  with  a 
female  person."  One  must  bear  in  mind  that  this 
man  esteemed  his  mother  very  highly,  holding  her 
above  all  others  as  a  person  and  as  a  woman.  The 
normal  person  forms  the  image  of  his  ideal  woman 
after  his  mother.  But  he  looks  upon  his  mother  as 
an  exception  and,  like  many  other  homosexuals,  ex- 
cepts  his  mother  alone  from  the  scorn  with  which 
he  looks  down  upon  the  whole  female  sex.  Now  he 
tolerates  woman  but  only  with  a  sadistic  feeling- 
attitude.  For  hatred  vanquishes  woman  easier  than 
love. 

The  question,  what  is  he  seeking  in  man  and  why 


218  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

does  he  prefer  men  to  women?,  he  answers  as 
follows :  "I  seek  the  penis  in  man.  I  think  chiefly 
of  his  penis.  With  men  I  find  no  resistance  at  all. 
Woman  I  consider  ugly  while  man  is  beautiful.  I 
look  chiefly  for  womanly  men  who  to  me  stand  for 
the  girl  with  the  penis.  I  was  attracted  only  once 
to  an  elderly  man  with  a  very  energetic  face.  And 
what  particularly  attracts  me  to  man:  there  is  no 
question  of  any  submissiveness  with  him.  Man  does 
not  humble  himself, — only  woman  does  that." 

But  he  does  not  seek  the  submissive  woman.  He 
needs  a  strong  woman  who  shall  domineer  over  him. 
He  confesses  that  intercourse  with  a  woman  sadist 
would  gratify  him.  But,  as  he  states  in  his  written 
account :  women  do  not  care  to  domineer,  they  want 
to  be  overpowered  themselves. 

We  note  that  the  polar  sexual  tension  between 
male  and  female  is  most  extreme  in  his  case.  He 
could  kill  the  woman  who  humiliates  him,  belittles 
him,  as  Judith  killed  Holofernes,  because  he  had 
conquered  her  sexually.10 

His  peculiar  manner  of  masturbating  (squeezing 
flies  to  death  against  the  penis)  discloses  his  spe- 
cific onanistic  fancy.  He  squeezes  a  woman  to  death, 
he  strangles  her,  while  cohabiting  with  her.  A  short 

10  Of.  also  my  essay,  Der  Kampf  der  Oeschlechter,  the  Strug- 
gle between  the  Sexes,  in  my  work,  The  Beloved  Ego,  Moffat, 
Yard  &  Co.,  N.  Y.  I  have  now  under  treatment  a  very  sick 
woman  who  has  gone  to  pieces  over  a  similar  problem.  She 
was  anesthetic  with  all  men.  The  one  man  who  had  just  once 
roused  her  during  sexual  intercourse  she  hated  and  could  kill. 


FUght  from  Woman  219 

time  after  the  first  analysis  he  had  sexual  inter- 
course with  a  servant  girl.  He  described  her  to 
me:  "a  gigantic  girl,  and  so  powerful  that  she  could 
have  overpowered  me  with  one  hand !"  With  such 
a  girl  he  felt  safe.  But  he  never  dared  to  have 
sexual  intercourse  with  weak  persons,  even  though 
they  exerted  a  stronger  sexual  attraction  on  him. 
He  had  every  reason  to  flee  from  woman,  because 
he  feared  the  transposition  of  his  excessive  love 
passion  into  a  deadly  aggressive  hatred.  He  claims 
he  could  have  intercourse  now  only  with  a  woman 
addicted  to  all  sorts  of  perversities.  Only  such  a 
woman  could  rouse  his  passion  and  could  offer  him 
something.  He  has  never  tried  this  out.  It  looks 
as  if  he  feared  the  involvement  of  his  heart,  but  that 
could  use  woman  merely  as  a  vehicle  for  his  lust. 
A  perverse  woman  would  drown  the  urgings  of  his 
strongest  paraphilia:  the  impulse  to  kill  a  woman. 

Now  we  may  understand  through  his  family  his- 
tory how  this  attitude  must  have  arisen. 

He  belonged  to  a  family  where  both  parents  had 
very  pronounced  individualities  of  their  own.  The 
father  was  a  self-made  man,  who  rose  through  his 
own  efforts  and  became  a  millionaire.  He  was 
strict,  energetic,  always  preoccupied  with  his  busi- 
ness, and  never  had  any  spare  time  for  his  family. 
With  the  children  he  was  tender  while  they  were 
small  and  pretty  playthings.  Later  he  changed 
completely  his  attitude  and  the  patient  was  re- 


220  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

quired  and  expected  to  show  a  good  record  of  his 
conduct  at  school.  He  continued  to  be  tender  with 
the  girls,  so  that  the  boy  must  have  unconsciously 
envied  his  sisters.  This  change  from  tenderness  to 
severity  on  the  part  of  parents  is  very  common  and 
is  responsible  for  many  instances  of  stubborn  con- 
trariness on  the  part  of  children,  especially  to- 
wards the  father.  The  child  always  longs  for  the 
early  childhood  when  the  father  was  so  loving  and 
tender.  Perhaps  this  longing  for  early  childhood 
is  the  reason  why  so  many  homosexuals  are  of  a 
decidedly  infantile  type.11  The  kindly  old  gentle- 
man sought  by  so  many  homosexuals  is  perhaps 
merely  the  affectionate  father  of  their  youth,  who 
never  punished  severely.  .  .  . 

Our  patient's  mother  was  a  remarkably  intelli- 
gent and  very  beautiful  woman,  who  all  her  life 
contended  with  her  husband  for  rulership  over  the 
house.  I  had  an  opportunity  to  obtain  a  deep  in- 
sight into  that  marriage  situation.  I  know  of  no 

"•  Havelock  Ellis  and  Moll  (Handbuch  der  Sexualwissen- 
schaften,  Leipzig,  F.  C.  W.  Vogel,  1912)  draw  attention  to 
this  fact:  "Both  sexes  often  show  a  remarkable  youth  fulness 
in  appearance  which  is  preserved  late  into  the  adult  state. 
The  love  of  green,  which  is  chiefly,  normally,  a  favorite  color 
with  children,  and  especially  with  girls,  is  often  observed.  A 
certain  degree  of  histrionic  talent  is  not  uncommon  as  well 
as  an  inclination  towards  tenderness,  occasionally  also  a  fem- 
inine love  of  adornments  and  jewels.  It  may  be  said  of 
many  of  these  physical  and  psychic  characteristics  that  they 
denote  a  certain  degree  of  infantilism,  and  this  fits  in  with 
the  view  that  homosexuality  is  traceable  to  aboriginal  bisex- 
uality;  for  the  deeper  we  penetrate  into  the  life  history  of 
the  individual,  the  nearer  we  approach  the  bisexual  stage. 


Struggle  for  Supremacy  221 

other  marriage  where  the  struggle  for  supremacy 
was  so  bitter  between  the  two  personalities.  There 
were  constantly  quarrels  in  the  house,  often  on  the 
point  of  breaking  out  in  violence.  Each  one  avoided 
showing  any  affection  for  the  other.  To  do  so 
would  have  meant  acknowledging  the  other's  su- 
periority. They  did  everything  they  could  to  each 
other.  They  bore  themselves  with  aloofness  and 
appeared  indifferent  towards  one  another,  though 
keeping  up  a  continuous  quarrel.  If  the  husband 
noticed  some  other  man  courting  his  handsome  wife, 
he  smiled  indulgently  and  accorded  his  rival  a  free 
field,  as  if  to  prove  to  his  wife  that  he  was  not  jeal- 
ous in  the  least,  and  was  willing  to  accord  her  every 
freedom.  She  also  seemed  to  overlook  the  seamy 
side,  in  her  husband's  conduct.  Nevertheless  they 
were  ready  to  jump  at  each  other  on  the  slightest 
provocation.  Once  the  situation  reached  a  crisis 
and  the  woman  pointed  a  revolver  at  her  husband 
threatening  to  end  everything  in  a  terrible  tragedy. 
The  children  divided  between  the  contesting  pa- 
rents, taking  sides.  The  son  was  entirely  with  his 
mother.  He  was  unhappy  because  she  had  to  put 
up  with  so  much  and  he  goaded  her  on  all  the  time, 
urging  her  to  carry  the  fight  to  a  successful  issue 
and  even  advising  her  to  seek  separation  from  her 
husband.  He  had  nothing  good  to  say  about  his 
father,  outside  the  latter's  business  ability.  He  de- 
scribed the  father  as  a  cold-blooded  fellow  without 


222  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

a  heart,  a  mere  adding  machine,  etc.  .  .  .  On  a 
superficial  examination  it  looked  as  if  he  loved  his 
mother  and  hated  his  father.  But  back  of  that 
hatred  there  stood  the  carefully  preserved  love  of 
his  earlier  years.  That  love,  however,  he  was  un- 
willing to  acknowledge.  That  was  the  critical  point 
in  the  analysis.  He  always  recoiled  whenever  the 
analysis  led  to  his  fondness  of  the  father,  or  various 
signs  pointed  out  his  aboriginal  attitude  towards 
the  father.  Any  analysis  leads  sooner  or  later  to  a 
similar  experience.  Nothing  is  more  difficult  than 
to  dissolve  the  father  hatred  and  reduce  it  back  to 
its  infantile  components, — love. 

But  in  his  homosexual  acts  he  played  the  role  of 
the  father  who  is  tender  with  the  child.  We  also 
perceive  now  why  he  felt  himself  suddenly  attracted 
to  that  elderly  gentleman  with  the  energetic  face. 
He  was  an  image  of  his  own  strict  father. 

Having  witnessed  in  his  childhood  a  terrific 
struggle  between  man  and  woman,  and  having  him- 
self taken  a  part  in  that  merciless  struggle  for  su- 
premacy, he  was  bound  to  conceive  the  problem  of 
love  as  a  struggle  for  supremacy,  a  competitive 
struggle  in  the  will  to  power.  His  supreme  ques- 
tion always  was:  "Who  is  the  stronger  one?"  This 
case  shows  us  with  remarkable  clearness  the  mechan- 
isms on  which  Alfred  Adler  lays  such  great  stress. 
But  it  also  shows  the  incestuous  love  for  the  sister, 
a  tendency  of  which  he  was  aware.  In  the  young 


"Male  and  Female"  223 

men  he  sought  the  reproductions  of  his  sister's  pic- 
ture. He  also  showed  a  fixation  upon  the  mother, 
with  whom  he  was  seldom  on  agreeable  pleasant 
terms.  Nevertheless  he  has  not  forgotten  the  early 
tendernesses  of  his  father.  In  the  wish  to  be 
squeezed  to  death,  his  masochistic  fancies  revolve 
around  the  masked  image  of  his  severe  father  stand- 
ing like  a  shadow.  To  be  master,  to  be  slave — his 
whole  system  of  thinking  revolved  around  these  two 
notions.  He  has  social  intercourse  only  with  men 
towards  whom  he  feels  himself  superior.  Already 
as  a  child  he  chose  his  comrades  among  the  children 
of  the  poor,  because  he  could  domineer  them.  He 
abandoned  one  friendship  because  his  friend  made 
jokes  at  his  expense.  He  was  not  a  handsome  child. 
That  drove  him  into  the  path  of  hatred  and  envy. 
He  hated  all  women  because  they  were  his  rivals 
with  the  father.  He  thought  he  would  have  been 
liked  better  if  he  had  been  a  handsomer  fellow. 

He  was  a  slave  to  his  family  and  unable  to  wean 
himself  away.  He  moved  to  another  city  in  order 
to  free  himself  of  the  family  ties.  That  made  him 
homesick.  His  mother  had  to  visit  him.  He  was 
proud  when  they  went  on  walks  together  and  were 
taken  for  a  pair  of  lovers.  But  secretly  he  really 
yearned  for  his  father,  and  never  forgives  himself 
that  he  did  not  interrupt  that  vacation  journey  to 
go  to  his  father. 

In  reality  he  continued  the  struggle  between  his 


224  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

parents.  Within  him  struggled  man  and  wife.  Pos- 
sibly also  the  child,  though  acting  more  in  the  role 
of  a  bystander,  and  ready  to  give  the  stereotypic 
answer  "both"  to  the  question,  "whom  do  you  like 
better?"  He  thinks  he  has  overcome  the  man  in 
him.  I  consider  his  homosexuality  a  passing  phase. 
He  will  achieve  health  only  after  complete  emotional 
detachment  from  the  family  circle. 

We  often  note  that  the  neurotic  gets  well  only 
after  the  death  of  one  of  the  parents  or  of  both. 
But  in  many  cases,  the  parents  even  after  they  are 
dead  continue  to  hold  their  sway  over  the  in- 
fantile soul  and  their  dominion  ends  only  with 
the  death  of  their  child  who,  in  that  devotion  to 
them,  loved  but  himself  and  loved  himself  unto 
death. 


VI 


HISTOEY  AND  ANALYSIS  OF  A  HOMOSEXUAL CHILD- 
HOOD REMINISCENCES ANAL  EROTISM ATTACH- 
MENT TO  THE  MOTHER INTERPRETATION  OF 

DREAM     SYMBOLISMS LOVE     OF     THE     FATHER 

EEGRESSION   THEORY   OF    HOMOSEXUALITY. 


Was  ist  das  Siegel  der  erreichten  Freiheit? — Sich 
nicht  mehr  von  sich  selber  schamen. 

— Nietzsche. 


VI 


What  is  the  stamp  of  achieved  freedom? — To  be 

no  longer  ashamed  of  one's  self. 

— Nietzsche. 

The  complete  analysis  of  a  homosexual  would 
require  a  whole  volume.  Before  concluding  the  pres- 
ent work  I  propose  to  give  a  portion  of  such  an 
analysis.  The  treatment  lasted  six  weeks,  when  it 
was  interrupted  by  the  war.  This  analysis,  too, 
only  led  as  far  as  the  father  complex.  But  even 
so  it  yields  important  data  and  enables  us  to  draw 
together  the  observations  made  in  connection  with 
the  various  briefer  illustrations  already  discussed. 

84.  Mr.  Sigma,  a  student  from  Denmark,  28 
years  of  age,  consults  me  on  account  of  various  ner- 
vous difficulties.  For  a  number  of  months  past  he 
has  felt  very  depressed,  is  always  fatigued,  generally 
unable  to  sleep  and  unable  to  concentrate  on  his 
work.  He  is  facing  his  final  examinations  but  is 
unable  to  study.  He  complains  of  a  lack  of  any 

227 


228  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

sense  of  joy  in  living.  He  admits  having  enter- 
tained also  ideas  of  suicide  which  he  has  rejected 
chiefly  on  account  of  his  mother.  He  is  very  much 
afraid  that  he  may  yield  some  day  to  just  such  a 
temptation. 

Sigma  is  consciously  homosexual.  He  empha- 
sizes: He  has  never  felt  any  interest  in  the  female 
sex  and  already  as  a  child  he  fell  in  love  only  with 
boys.  He  is  the  only  son  of  a  very  hard-working, 
brave,  mother  in  comfortable  circumstances  who  is 
wholly  wrapped  up  in  him.  His  father  died  a  few 
years  ago.  He  lives  a  wholly  retired  existence,  he 
has  no  friends, — for  his  mother  prevents  that. 
Once — he  was  17  years  of  age  at  the  time — he  had 
a  close  friend  to  whom  he  felt  very  attached,  but 
his  mother  interfered  and  broke  up  their  friendship. 
Now  he  is  completely  isolated.  All  his  spare  time 
he  devotes  to  his  mother,  when  he  is  not  gone  to  the 
theater  or  to  a  concert.  He  also  visits  no  families; 
his  mother  prevents  it. 

He  begins — spontaneously — an  account  of  his 
life  with  his  first  recollections: 

I  was  2  years  of  age  and  we — a  number  of  chil- 
dren— played  out  of  doors.  A  pretty  lady  walked 
up  and  threw  a  ball  into  the  grass.  She  said:  He 
who  catches  the  ball  may  keep  it.  I  was  nearest  to 
it  but  did  not  dare  to  trespass  upon  the  finely  kept 
lawn.  Therefore  another  one  caught  the  ball.  .  .  . 

This  recollection  seems  typical  of  Sigma.     Like 


Early  Sexual  History  229 

all  first  recollections  it  contains  the  determinants  of 
his  whole  life.1  It  shows  us  a  man  who  lacks  self- 
confidence,  whose  activity  is  inhibited  by  considera- 
tions regarding  others.  He  explains  that  for  the 
sake  of  his  mother  he  has  renounced  all  pleasures  in 
life.  He  is  always  hesitant  (kleinmiitig) ,  over- 
whelmed by  his  feeling  of  inferiority  and  dares  not 
assume  any  important  enterprise. 

His  sexuality  awoke  very  early.  He  played  al- 
ways with  girls  and  felt  more  like  a  girl.  He  liked 
to  put  on  his  mother's  hat  and  clothing.  His  mother 
was  the  master  in  the  house,  the  breadwinner  and 
law  giver.  The  father  always  played  a  subordinate 
role.  We  see  again  a  reiteration  of  the  fact  that  the 
child  identifies  itself  with  the  stronger  parent. 
Under  the  circumstances  it  was  natural  that  Sigma 
should  identify  himself  with  the  mother.  .  .  . 

Already,  in  the  public  school,  at  seven  years  of 
age,  he  fell  in  love  with  his  teacher.  That  is  why 
he  became  one  of  the  best  scholars.  He  also  loved 
some  of  his  colleagues,  but  was  too  bashful  to  be- 
tray himself  to  them.  At  12  years  of  age  he  began 
to  masturbate  and  during  the  act  his  fancies  were 
centered  on  the  image  of  a  naked  man.  He  was 
very  religious  up  till  that  time  and  during  con- 
fession distinguished  himself  by  the  lengthy  list  of 

1  Dr.  Paul  Schrecker,  Die  Individualpsychologische  Bedevr 
tung  der  Kindheitserrinnerungen,  Zentralbl.  f.  Psychoanalyse, 
Vol.  IV. 


230  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

his  sins  and  the  depth  of  his  dejection.  At  12  years 
of  age  he  became  free  and  progressively  developed 
into  a  full-fledged  atheist.  The  struggle  against 
masturbation  began  at  14  years  of  age,  when  he 
heard  that  the  habit  was  very  harmful.  After  that 
he  indulged  more  rarely.  Great  feeling  of  fatigue 
on  day  after  pollution.  The  subject  regards  his 
present  condition  a  consequence  of  his  masturbation 
habit. 

Already  during  his  gymnasium  years  (high- 
school)  his  mind  was  distracted  and  he  barely  man- 
aged to  squeeze  through  his  finals  (Matura).  He 
was  always  bashful  and  avoided  the  colleagues  who 
spoke  cynically  among  themselves  about  girls  so  that 
he  was  called  "Miss  Sigma."  For  a  few  years  he 
lived  away  from  home.  They  lived  formerly  in  the 
country  and  he  had  to  stay  in  Copenhagen.  He 
lived  with  some  older  sisters  with  whom  he  did  not 
get  along  very  well.  He  played  music  with  them, 
joined  them  on  walks,  experienced  considerable  ex- 
citation .  .  .  short  of  erotism.  His  whole  erotic 
feeling  was  directed  only  to  men  and  boys.  In  the 
course  of  his  endless  day  dream  fancies  he  never 
thought  of  a  woman  at  any  time  in  his  life.  He 
dreams  only  of  men  and  thinks  only  of  them.  That 
concludes  the  first  visit. 

Sigma  again  emphasizes  his  one-sided  inclination 
towards  men.  Nevertheless  he  must  correct  a  small 
detail  of  his  account  as  given  on  the  previous  day. 


Early  Sexual  History  231 

This,  I  repeat,  is  a  common  typical  occurrence  in 
the  anamnesis  of  homosexuals.  When  giving  an 
account  of  their  life  they  neglect  entirely  all  the 
heterosexual  episodes.  But  today  Sigma  adds  that 
occasionally  he  did  have  erotic  dreams  concerning 
women ;  perhaps  four  or  five  times.  But  not  more 
often  than  that.  These  dreams  led  to  pollutions 
and  were  rather  indefinite  as  to  content.  Sigma 
was  also  in  love,  transiently,  with  a  girl  cousin,  at 
sixteen  years  of  age.  He  at  once  attempts  to 
weaken  the  force  of  this  declaration:  it  was  merely 
a  pastime,  a  pose,  because  an  uncle  was  in  love  with 
the  same  girl.  He  thought  it  was  his  duty  also  to 
make  love  to  this  girl  cousin.  But  it  was  soon  over. 
And  he  must  emphasize  again  that  he  never  in- 
dulged in  any  phantasies  centering  on  women.  He 
had  such  phantasies.  But  they  were  always  about 
men. 

He  was  brought  up  almost  wholly  in  female  so- 
ciety. If  his  mother  was  away,  there  was  an  aunt 
in  the  house  who  looked  after  him.  He  was  taken 
to  school  and  was  called  for  when  he  was  already 
a  grown-up  boy — the  typical  training  for  depend- 
ence. His  mother  wanted  to  procure  friends  for 
him.  There  were  always  some  boys  whom  she  wished 
he  would  accept  as  his  friends.  But  usually  he 
himself  found  nothing  in  those  particular  boys  to 
interest  him.  If  he  himself  chose  some  boy  for  a 
friend  his  mother  was  sure  to  interpose  her  veto  as 


232  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

soon  as  their  friendship  became  too  warm.  And  he 
was  always  prone  to  fall  in  love  with  his  friends. 
He  composed  poetry  at  a  very  early  age,  deifying 
his  friends;  to  this  day  his  poems  are  devoted  al- 
most wholly  to  Eros  Uranos. 

At  this  point  he  reflects  for  a  while;  and  he  con- 
tinues: "I  identified  myself  always  with  the  female 
figures  who  were  mostly  strong,  aggressive  women. 
I  could  always  enthuse  over  such  strong,  energetic 
women  displaying  male  aggressiveness  about  them. 
If  a  woman  or  a  girl  ever  interested  me  and  played 
a  role  in  my  day  dreams,  she  was  of  this  type." 
Next  he  recalls  a  heterosexual  episode.  He  ad- 
mired for  a  tims  the  landlady's  daughter,  kept  com- 
pany with  her,  they  played  music  together,  but  he 
felt  very  unhappy  when  she  married  off  afterwards. 

The  Eulenberg  trial  made  him  aware  of  his  own 
homosexuality.  That  made  him  very  unhappy  for 
he  discovered  that  he  was  unlike  others.  In  the 
high-school  he  was  always  looked  upon  as  peculiar 
and  he  kept  aloof  from  his  schoolmates.  The  fa- 
mous trial  made  it  clear  to  him  that  his  end  would 
be  either  insanity  or  jail.  He  went  through  some 
dreadful  days.  He  was  in  love  with  a  friend  and 
when  the  latter  asked  him  why  he  was  so  depressed, 
he  broke  into  bitter  tears  and  poured  out  his  heart 
circuitously  describing  his  passion.  He  felt  that 
he  was  not  like  others,  he  felt  lonely  and  closed  in, 
unrecognized  and  weak.  His  friend  advised  him  to 


Pursuit  Dreams  233 

devote  himself  more  to  art.  He  looked  upon  the 
subject's  suffering  as  due  to  thwarted  ambition. 

His  typical  dreams  are  concerned  with  pursuit 
by  men  and  breaking  in.  A  particular  dream  made 
a  strong  impression  on  him :  He  was  pursued  in  bed 
by  a  great  mass  of  bedbugs  and  finally  himself 
turned  into  a  bedbug.2  Like  all  homosexuals  he 
had  for  a  time  the  fear  of  infection  and  especially 
of  tuberculosis.  He  was  almost  convinced  that  he 
would  die  prematurely  of  tuberculosis. 

We  are  also  familiar  with  tuberculosis  (as  well 
as  syphilis)  as  the  representative  of  what  is  evil, 
of  incest  and  homosexuality.  But  for  the  present 
our  patient  sheds  no  light  on  this  aspect  of  the  sub- 
ject. We  do  not  care  to  influence  Sigma  and  there- 
fore do  not  disturb  the  course  of  his  associations. 
Sigma  shows  but  little  interest  in  the  analysis.  He 
is  mistrusting  and  hesitant.  He  does  not  have  much 
time  and  seems  relieved  when  the  sitting  is  over. 

The  next  sitting  opens  as  follows :  "I  have  come 
to  ask  you  to  make  an  appointment  with  me  for 
tomorrow.  I  want  to  skip  today.  I  must  take  a 
little  rest  and  gather  strength.  Yesterday's  sitting 
has  sort  of  taken  me  to  pieces.  .  .  ." 

During  the  first  couple  of  sittings  I  had  hardly 

*Cp.  the  novel  by  Kafka,  Die  Verwandlung  (Verlag  von 
Kurt  Wolff).  It  portrays  the  transformation  of  a  man  into 
a  bedbug.  It  is  obviously  a  sadistic  fancy  (the  bedbug  sucks 
blood).  This  meaning  is  not  imparted  to  the  patient  so  as 
not  to  influence  the  course  of  his  associations. 


234  The  Homosexual  Neuiosis 

spoken  a  word  and  had  allowed  Sigma  to  do  all  the 
talking.  But  the  flight  reflex,  which  dominates  all 
homosexuals,  because  they  are  afraid  of  the  truth, 
is  here  already  coming  to  surface: 

"What  roused  you  so  yesterday?" 

"That  you  kept  so  quiet.  It  was  an  uncanny 
silence.  .  .  ." 

"Would  you  have  preferred  to  see  me  excited?" 

"No  ...  I  know,  of  course,  that  the  physician 
must  keep  his  balance.  But  that  is  precisely  what  I 
lack.  What  an  awful  impression  I  must  have  made 
on  you !" 

Hinc  illae  lacrimae!  The  subject  is  concerned 
over  the  impression  he  makes  upon  the  physician. 
He  wants  to  know  whether  the  physician  has  sym- 
pathy for  him,  whether  he  is  impressed  or  indif- 
ferent. He  is  afraid  of  making  himself  appear  ridic- 
ulous. The  physician  becomes  the  chief  person 
around  whom  his  own  life  interests  are  being  cen- 
tered for  the  time. 

"But  that  is  irrelevant.  You  want  to  get  well; 
and  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  personal  matters." 

"To  be  sure, — that  is  just  what  I  was  saying  to 
myself.  Doctor,  you  are  my  last  hope.  And  yet, 
I  am  already  losing  patience  and  feel  like  running 
off.  It  is  less  than  two  weeks  since  I  went  to  pur- 
chase a  revolver  intending  to  shoot  myself.  The 
plan  fell  through  only  on  account  of  my  lack  of 
adroitness.  I  was  unable  to  procure  a  revolver. 


Fixation  on  Friend  235 

The  saleslady  demanded  to  be  shown  a  purchase 
permit  and  I  did  not  have  one.  There  must  have 
also  been  a  tremor  in  my  voice.  I  was  so  excited. 
...  If  I  had  been  able  to  procure  that  revolver  I 
would  not  be  now  sitting  in  your  office." 

"Why  did  you  want  to  die?" 

"A  life  full  of  trouble!  No  friends!  No  pros- 
pect of  improvement !  The  everlasting  depression !" 

"And  did  you  not  think  of  the  suffering  you  would 
have  caused  your  mother?  To  your  mother  who 
sacrificed  her  life  for  you?" 

"No,  I  was  indifferent  about  that.  It  would  have 
only  served  her  right,  because  it  is  she  who  has 
ruined  my  life.  It  might  have  been  the  end  of  her 
too.  .  .  .  But  I  was  truly  sorry  for  my  friend.  He 
has  so  many  cares  and  so  much  to  think  about.  It 
would  have  shaken  him  up.  He  is  a  writer  and  is 
now  at  work  on  a  new  novel.  It  would  have  cer- 
tainly thrown  him  out  of  the  writing  mood  and  it 
would  have  interfered  with  his  creative  activity," 

"What  has  your  mother  done  you  that  you  should 
want  to  punish  her  so  severely?" 

This  brings  out  the  last  repressed  grudge  against 
the  mother  who  came  near  separating  him  from  his 
much  beloved  friend. 

"Mother  has  ruined  my  whole  life,"  he  continues, 
"she  has  separated  me  from  my  only  and  best  friend. 
You  have  no  idea  what  I  suffered.  He  came  daily 
to  our  house.  He  accompanied  me  on  the  piano  so 


236  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

that  we  enjoyed  unforgettable  evenings  together. 
Father  was  once  a  good  singer.  As  there  was  no 
accompanist  at  hand  he  neglected  the  beautiful  gift. 
Now  we  resurrected  the  old  songs  once  more.  Every 
evening  was  a  festival.  On  account  of  a  pulmonary 
apical  catarrh  I  had  to  go  to  Egypt.  During  my 
absence  a  catastrophe  occurred.  Mother  found 
that  my  friend  was  robbing  her  of  a  son's  love.  She 
was  jealous  because  he  heard  more  often  and  re- 
ceived longer  letters  from  me  than  the  parents.  She 
compelled  my  father  to  write  Ernst  a  curt  letter 
forbidding  him  to  come  to  the  house  any  longer  or 
to  correspond  with  me.  From  Ernst,  to  whom  I 
wrote  regularly  three  times  weekly  while  he  an- 
swered once,  I  received  next  an  ironic  letter,  stating 
that  I  ought  to  enclose  the  parent's  permission  next 
time  I  write  him.  Only  then  will  he  write  me  again. 
I  did  not  understand  what  that  meant  until  I  read 
the  enclosed  father's  letter.  I  felt  like  one  against 
whom  the  gates  of  heaven  have  been  suddenly  closed 
tight.  I  returned  to  Copenhagen  at  once,  but  did 
not  dare  to  take  openly  a  stand  against  mother. 
She  had  a  bad  heart  spell  the  first  time  I  reproached 
her  bitterly  and  all  the  relatives  called  me  her  mur- 
derer. I  made  up  secretly  with  Ernst  and  met  him 
on  the  street.  But  mother  found  out.  She  followed 
me  stealthily  and  when  she  discovered  that  I  was 
meeting  Ernst  there  followed  terrible  quarrels  which 
I  am  unable  to  relate.  I  was  thus  very  badly  em- 


Fixation  on  Friend  237 

bittered  and  that  innocent  relationship  was  turned 
into  a  morbid  whim.  You  will  appreciate,  there- 
fore, that  I  cannot  but  hold  a  grudge  against 
mother.  .  .  ." 

"Have  you  not  tried  to  rebel  openly  against  the 
situation  ?" 

"I  was  too  weak  for  that.  Father  begged  me  not 
to  disturb  the  happiness  of  our  family  circle.  It 
was  a  terrible  situation  and  I  did  not  see  my  way 
out  of  it.  That  happened  when  I  was  19  years  of 
age.  I  have  since  told  mother  that  I  must  meet 
Ernst  once  in  a  while.  She  is  against  the  idea  and 
wants  to  link  me  up  to  other  friends.  I  am  brought 
into  contact  with  girls  in  the  hope  that  I  will  take 
an  interest  in  them.  But  the  very  fact  that  they 
are  brought  in  my  way  under  mother's  patronage, 
as  it  were,  makes  them  repulsive  to  me  from  the 
outset.  Moreover,  I  know  that  mother  would  be 
equally  jealous  if  I  should  really  love  a  girl.  She 
will  stand  for  no  other  love  besides  her.  I  am  too 
broken  up  to  ever  break  away  and  be  self-reliant. 
So  I  remain  everlastingly  a  mother's  boy.  But  I 
cannot  endure  this  sort  of  thing  any  longer.  I  have 
had  enough  of  this  torture  and  want  to  see  an  end 
to  it.  .  .  ." 

"I  feel  much  better.  Last  evening  I  worked  fairly 
well,  for  the  first  time  in  a  long  period.  I  am  be- 
ginning to  like  Vienna.  I  was  out  in  the  woods 


238  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

(Wienerwald)  and  I  was  pleased  with  the  sight  of 
the  first  violet.     I  am  again  beginning  to  feel  pleas- 
ure in  nature's  beauties.    It  was  my  first  excursion." 
"Don't  you  go  out  of  doors  otherwise?" 
"Yes,  every  Sunday.     Always  in  mother's  com- 
pany.   We  start  in  the  morning,  have  our  lunch  out 
of  doors  and  spend  the  day  together." 

"Do  you  not  go  on  excursions  with  your  friend?" 
"Unfortunately,  I  do  not.  But  hold  on!  I  did, 
just  once.  I  was  going  to  tell  you  about  it  any- 
way, today.  He  invited  me  to  join  him  with  a  num- 
ber of  his  colleagues  on  an  excursion  to  a  distant 
island.  I  was  enthusiastic  over  the  plan  at  once 
for  I  hoped  that  it  would  prove  an  opportunity  for 
greater  intimacy  between  us.  But  I  was  disillu- 
sioned. We  were  happy  the  whole  day.  I  was 
thinking  all  the  time  of  the  night.  I  hoped  we  would 
have  a  room  with  double  bed.  .  .  .  Unfortunately 
all  the  rooms  in  the  hotel  were  taken  and  we  had  to 
be  content  with  occupying  quarters  in  common. 
Here,  too,  luck  failed  to  serve  me.  My  friend  slept 
next  to  another  member  of  the  party.  Next  day, 
under  the  pretext  of  fatigue,  I  started  back.  I 
felt  unhappy  and  was  all  day  long  on  the  point  of 
tears.  I  reached  the  next  village  alone. .  It  was  on 
a  holiday.  I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  So  I  went 
into  the  church.  .  .  ." 
"To  pray?" 
"Not  at  all.  I  was  no  longer  religious  at  the 


Fixation  on  Friend  239 

time.  I  went  to  be  among  people.  It  did  no  good. 
The  many  dressed  up  folks,  the  holiday  atmosphere, 
the  music,  the  songs,  the  organ.  I  calmed  down  a 
little.  Next  I  went  to  a  restaurant  because  I  felt 
a  great  craving  for  something  sweet.  Thus  the 
majestic  and  the  trivial  stand  close  in  my  case.3 
Then  I  returned  home,  after  first  driving  around 
through  the  streets  and  was  happy  when  it  was  so 
late  that  I  had  to  go  back  to  the  house.  .  .  ." 

There  follow  various  accounts  of  his  passion  for 
his  friend  Ernst.  He  always  dreams  of  physical 
union  with  the  friend  and  has  no  other  thought. 
Only  once  he  attempted  aggression  on  his  friend. 
In  a  urinal  he  suddenly  reached  for  his  friend's 
penis.  The  latter  good-naturedly  avoided  him  and 
never  afterwards  referred  to  the  incident.  But  he 
saw  clearly  that  he  would  never  achieve  his  aim. 
Meanwhile  his  friend  fell  in  love  with  an  actress. 
He  was  jealous  only  so  long  as  his  friend  did  not 
confide  in  him.  Thereafter  he  was  happy  because 
the  actress  preferred  another  man  and  paid  no 
attention  to  Ernst.  He  was  in  a  position  to  con- 
sole his  friend  like  a  mother.  He  emphasizes  that 
his  feelings  are  distinctly  maternal  towards  men 
who  are  ill  or  unhappy  and  that  he  makes  an  ex- 
cellent nurse, — thus  bringing  out  his  pronounced 

*  The  mouth  as  an  erogenous  zone.  He  expected  kisses  and 
meanwhile  was  satisfied  with  other  sweets  as  a  substitute.  He 
is  a  confirmed  lover  of  dainties  and  still  relies  on  sweets  which 
he  is  in  the  habit  of  carrying  in  his  pockets. 


240  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

identification  with  the  mother.  But  he  was  unable 
to  nurse  his  father  when  the  latter  was  taken  with 
gastric  cancer;  the  disease  was  terribly  repulsive 
to  him.  .  .  . 

He  has  dreamed  the  following  dream : 

/  am  called  up  in  school.  I  had  to  solve  a  mathe- 
matical problem  but  could  not  arrive  at  the  right 
result.  Next  it  was  an  English  translation  from 
Shakespeare.  I  did  not  know  the  vowels.  It  seemed 
that  the  various  persons  of  the  play  were  repre- 
sented by  some  of  the  colleagues  in  theatrical  cos- 
tumes. 

The  analysis  of  this  dream  would  lead  us  into 
endless  bypaths.  The  most  important  feature  is  the 
affective  character  of  the  dream  which  in  simplest 
terms  may  be  formulated  as  follows:  "I  am  facing 
problems  in  life  for  which  I  do  not  feel  prepared. 
I  am  an  actor  and  I  am  wearing  a  theatrical  cos- 
tume. I  am  playing  the  homosexual,  I  have  trans- 
posed one  aboriginal  trend  into  another.  The 
English  play,  The  Merchant  of  Venice,  comes  to  his 
mind.  The  teacher  who  examined  him  in  mathe- 
matics was  also  Kaufmann  (merchant)  by  name. 
This  Kaufmann  is  the  center  of  a  rather  tragic 
episode  in  his  life.  He  was  studying  "exact"  branches 
(Realschule)  but  was  interested  in  the  classical 
(Gymnasium)  course;  he  was  always  weak  in  mathe- 


Dreams  241 

matics;  he  failed  in  his  last  examination  for  engi- 
neering. His  attitude  towards  money  matters  has 
always  been  morbid.  His  mother  continually  re- 
proaches him  for  not  appreciating  the  value  of 
money  and  for  being  unable  to  handle  money  wisely. 
He  is  different  from  his  parents,  both  of  whom  are 
merchants. 

The  Merchant  of  Venice  portrays  the  tragedy  of 
the  relations  of  a  Jew  to  his  only  daughter.  She 
runs  off  with  her  beloved  and  abandons  the  greedy 
father,  who,  however,  never  begrudged  her  any- 
thing. He  wants  to  do  likewise.  He  would  like  to 
flee  with  his  friend  and  abandon  the  mother.  His 
basic  problem  is :  how  to  get  around  his  mother,  how 
to  free  himself  of  her. 

He  places  great  weight  on  the  jewel  box  scene, 
which  has  always  impressed  him.  He,  too,  is  con- 
fronted by  the  difficult  problem  of  a  choosing  among 
the  boxes.  There  are  three  paths  open  before  him: 
man,  woman  and  child.  He  is  a  child,  would  like 
to  be  a  woman  and  is  afraid  to  be  a  man.  His  inner 
conflicts  are  locked  up  like  the  valuables  in  the 
box.  We  shall  see  whether  analysis  is  capable  of 
disclosing  them.  .  .  . 

There  are  some  vague  relations  to  Shylock's  cold- 
bloodedness. He  emphasizes  the  pound  of  flesh.  The 
associations  lead  to  certain  sadistic  trends  which 
are  wholly  unconscious.  At  any  rate,  the  first 
dream  in  the  analysis  is  of  greatest  significance.  Its 


242  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

complete  solution  and  interpretation  becomes  pos- 
sible much  later.  .  .  . 

He  dwells  for  a  long  time  on  his  attitude  towards 
money.  One  familiar  with  dream  analysis  at  once 
suspects  that  this  money  complex  has  its  bearing 
on  anal  eroticism.  He  keeps  to  his  theme.  Re- 
quests to  leave  early. 

Again  comes  very  late  and  asks  whether  he  may 
leave  early.  He  is  hungry.  (One  notices  his  ex- 
tremely resistant  attitude.  He  is  afraid  he  might 
disclose  something.)  He  has  dreamed  wild  and  pro- 
fuse dreams,  he  can  no  longer  remember  what.  He 
must  have  spoiled  his  stomach  for  he  vomited  in 
the  morning. 

This  vomiting  in  the  morning,  a  symptom  which 
appears  in  many  neurotics  and  also  in  the  case  of 
many  neurotic  children  is  a  reaction  of  the  ethical, 
moral  self  against  the  dreams  of  the  previous  night. 
Plainly,  one  is  disgusted  with  one's  self.  Hence  the 
vomiting  which  is  subsequently  ascribed  to  some- 
thing inoffensive  that  may  have  been  eaten  on  the 
previous  evening.  But  the  subject  believes  that  the 
beer  he  drank  did  not  agree  with  the  dessert.  .  .  . 

He  is  asked  whether  he  can  recall  at  all  the  dream. 

"No,  not  a  trace." 

"Better  try  and  see." 

"I  only  remember  scraps;  nothing  worth  men- 
tioning." 

"Please  tell  me  these  scraps." 


Urolagnla  243 

"I  have  dreamed  only  about  various  water  closets 
and  urinals.  There  was  a  urinal  here  and  one  in  the 
office  .  .  .  the  rest  is  gone.  I  cannot  recall." 

"The  vomiting  in  the  morning  seems  to  me  to 
point  at  something  going  on  in  the  urinal  which 
strikes  you  as  disgusting." 

"May  I  not  have  simply  spoiled  my  stomach?" 

"Indeed.  That  is  a  possibility  not  to  be  ex- 
cluded. But  the  other  is  also  a  possibility  to  be 
thought  of.  Do  you  often  vomit  in  the  morning?" 

"Yes,  but  only  as  I  did  today.  Only  fluid.  It  is 
more  a  nausea  than  real  vomiting.  May  I  leave 
now?" 

"You  know  that  I  never  compel  you  to  stay. 
Only  I  want  to  draw  your  attention  that  I  am  fully 
aware  you  want  to  hide  something  from  me.  How 
do  you  imagine  you  can  get  well  if  you  do  not  have 
the  courage  to  confide  in  your  consultant?  Or  per- 
haps you  are  afraid  that  you  will  lose  something  of 
my  respect  if  you  should  disclose  the  peculiarities 
of  your  sexual  life?  You  are  anxious  to  run  off 
and  keep  your  secret.  Very  well.  You  are  free  to 
do  as  you  wish.  But  do  not  expect,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, that  a  consultant  should  spend  his  time 
on  your  case.  One  who  wants  really  to  get  well 
must  first  be  willing  to  face  his  problems  clearly." 

"You  are  right,  doctor.  I  have  kept  from  you 
the  most  important  thing:  I  do  indulge  in  a  form 
of  sexual  excitation  which  is  perhaps  the  most  un- 


244  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

pleasant  possible.  You  will  appreciate  at  once  why 
I  have  kept  the  knowledge  of  this  from  you  so  long. 
I  thought  I  have  told  you  already  too  much  and  I 
wanted  to  keep  to  myself  this  particular  morbid 
turn.  But  you  will  surely  despise  me." 

"I  despise  no  sufferer." 

"Already  as  a  small  boy  I  had  felt  the  greatest 
interest  in  the  water  closet.  My  wish  was  always : 
to  see  another  man  in  the  act  of  defecating.  In 
my  school  fancies  I  always  thought  of  the  teacher 
being  compelled  to  defecate  in  my  presence.  I  was 
always  trying  to  watch  other  men  in  the  act.  If  I 
succeeded  in  witnessing  the  act  I  became  very  ex- 
cited and  masturbated.  My  whole  mind  and  thought 
to  this  day  revolves  around  the  water  closet  and  the 
feces.  Think  of  it!  I,  a  person  with  certain  aes- 
thetic tastes,  an  artist,  poet,  enthusiastic  musician, 
a  man  aspiring  to  all  that  is  beautiful  and  noble, — 
to  be  fettered  down  to  so  horrible  a  perversion! 
Think  of  this  abyss  between  my  body  and  my  soul! 
If  I  become  acquainted  with  a  new  man  and  I  like 
him,  my  first  thought  is:  I  should  like  to  see  him 
empty  his  bowels."  4 

"Have  you  perhaps,  as  a  child,  witnessed  such  a 
scene  which  may  have  made  a  deep  impression  on 
you?" 

"I  do  not  remember.     I  only  know  that  already 

*This  is  a  thought  which  troubles  many  neurotics.  It  is 
their  way  of  belittling  the  persons  who  impress  them  and 
who  thus  make  them  realize  their  own  inferiority. 


Urolagnia  245 

in  the  primary  grades  I  was  interested  in  watching 
my  schoolmates.  In  Denmark  there  is  a  greater 
freedom  about  these  matters  than  elsewhere.  Sexual 
freedom,  too,  seems  to  me  to  be  greater  in  our 
^country.  In  later  years  I  found  sufficient  oppor- 
tunity to  satisfy  my  craving.  Finally  I  had  re- 
course to  a  tiny  augur  which  I  keep  always  with  me 
as  an  aid  to  secure  the  opportunities  for  observa- 
tion which  have  now  become  indispensable  to  me. 
But  usually  I  find  boring  holes  unnecessary.  Little 
appropriate  convenient  holes  may  be  found  when 
one  looks  for  them.  I  must  have  many  colleagues 
for  I  have  found  that  most  closets  show  these  ob- 
servation spots.  Here  in  Vienna,  too,  I  have  seldom 
come  across  a  water  closet,  where  it  was  not  possible 
to  watch  the  act.  I  fight  with  all  my  powers  against 
this  unfortunate  trend.  But  I  give  in  each  time 
again.  I  think  of  it  all  forenoon.  By  noontime  I 
am  wholly  out  of  patience.  I  am  impelled  to  seek 
a  public  lavatory.  There  I  wait  till  a  man  comes 
along.  When  I  see  him  defecate,  I  mastur- 
bate. .  .  ." 

"Have  you  watched  women,  too?*' 

"No,  I  find  women  disgusting  when  I  think  of 
them  in  this  situation." 

We  are  here  confronted  with  a  form  of  anal 
erotism  of  a  pronounced  infantile  character.  All 
children  without  exception  show  a  great  interest  in 
the  lavatory  and  in  the  processes  of  micturition  and 


246  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

defecation.  These  processes  form  the  theme  of  a 
whole  group  of  infantile  sexual  theories.  The  chil- 
dren come  through  the  anus,  they  are  generated 
through  the  urine,  etc.  It  is  quite  likely  that  we 
have  here  an  instance  of  the  fixation  of  certain  in- 
fantile impressions.  The  fact  that  the  first  phan- 
tasies which  he  is  able  to  recall  revolve  around  his 
teacher,  proves  that  someone  who  was  an  authority 
played  a  role  as  the  intermediary  for  these  early 
infantile  impressions.  Who  can  that  authority  be? 
We  can  only  surmise.  We  must  await  patiently 
the  further  development  of  the  analysis. 

He  complains  that  he  has  an  ugly  appearance, 
because  everything  about  him  is  so  unprepossessing ; 
his  whole  physiognomy  seems  to  him  womanly,  soft, 
and  the  obverse  of  striking.  He  often  turns  to  the 
looking-glass  and  examines  himself.  As  in  the  pic- 
ture of  Dorian  Grey  he  finds  the  traces  of  his  para- 
philia  expressed  in  his  features.  He  symbolizes  his 
mental  processes  and  localizes  them  in  his  face.  He 
fights,  a  relentless  fight  against  his  scatologic  phan- 
tasies and  trends,  he  seems  to  himself  weak,  womanly, 
repulsive.  Vice,  low  thoughts,  animal  cravings,  low 
passion — all  that  he  sees  expressed  in  his  face. 

His  first  recollection  of  his  paraphilia  is  note- 
worthy. He  is  playing  with  a  little  friend,  an  uncle, 
who  wants  to  defecate  near  the  street.  He  points 


Coprophilia  247 

out  that  people  may  pass  and  prevents  the  deed. 
.  .  .  This  recollection  already  indicates  the  two 
tendencies :  the  coprophiliac  trend  and  the  struggle 
against  it. 

Moreover,  his  coprophilia  reaches  farther  than 
he  has  confessed  thus  far.  We  discover  today  that 
there  is  present  a  predisposition  to  coprophagia, 
that  the  condition  is  really  a  mixture  of  homo- 
sexuality and  stark  infantilism.  He  would  like  to 
allow  the  partner  to  defecate  on  him.  Identifica- 
tions with  lavatory  come  to  surface.  The  place 
chosen  for  the  deposition  of  the  feces  is  the  abdo- 
men, occasionally  the  mouth.  There  are  also  fre- 
quent phantasies  of  fellatio,  active  and  passive.  The 
reading  of  various  medical  and  popular  books  ex- 
cites his  phantasy  and  feeds  his  paraphilia. 

He  relates  two  dreams.  In  the  first  he  was  run- 
ning after  an  electric  car  which  he  could  not  reach. 
He  tried  to  jump  on  but  in  vain,  the  car  just  passed 
before  his  nose.  In  the  second  dream  he  led  his  dog 
for  a  walk,  the  dog  met  another  and  copulated  while 
he  himself  ran  off.  The  first  dream  represents  an 
unattainable  ideal.  The  second  illustrates  the  en- 
deavor to  get  rid  of  the  animal-like  trends  (within 
himself).  He  avoids  similarly  coitus  with  a 
woman. 

He  relates  that  for  a  long  time  he  has  been  in 


248  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

the  habit  of  writing  up  phantastic  homosexual  or- 
gies and  that  he  carries  around  these  erotic  stories 
for  months.  The  last  story  he  wrote  some  14  days 
ago.  He  is  much  interested  in  these  doings,  because 
the  writing  and  the  reading  excite  him  tremendously. 
He  tells  me  the  content  of  the  last  phantasy  which 
he  has  written  up:  A  round  table  of  sixteen  sol- 
diers. One  of  them  holds  a  naked,  woman  on  his 
knees.  She  must  urinate  in  a  glass.  The  soldier 
pours  beer  in  that  glass.  Then  all  those  present 
partake  of  the  beer.5 

He  confesses  next  that  he  has  already  carried  out 
a  number  of  times  various  urolagnic  acts  and  felt 
great  pleasure  doing  so.  In  fact  these  cravings  did 
not  bother  him  only  so  long  as  the  friend  visited 
him  daily  and  he  was  keeping  up  his  spiritual  love 
for  the  fellow.  That  is  why  he  was  so  broken  up 
when  his  mother  deprived  him  of  that  friend. 

He  relates  a  number  of  episodes  illustrating  his 
activity  as  voyeur.  At  first  it  was  chiefly  men  of 
advanced  age  who  roused  him.  They  had  to  have 
very  clean  and  attractive  linen.  Ejaculation  en- 
sued when  he  had  an  opportunity  to  see  the  man 
naked  and  the  phallus  interested  him  more  than  the 
podex. 

He  also  admits  having  entertained  phantasies 
about  his  father.  But  he  found  these  phantasies 

•Later  will  be  shown  the  sadistic  meaning  of  this  phantasy. 
Urine  is  often  a  substitute  for  blood  in  the  dream.  .  .  . 


Attitude  towards  the  Mother  249 

unbearable  and  they  proved  at  last  so  discomforting 
that  he  had  to  abandon  them.  On  the  other  hand 
he  was  able  to  state  emphatically  that  his  mother 
never  figured  as  an  erotic  object  in  his  fancies. 

As  a  genuine  homosexual  he  was  very  much  sur- 
'  prised  that  a  "naked  woman"  should  figure  in  his 
last  phantasy  or  story  and  he  could  not  explain 
the  intrusion.  But  he  is  telling  me  everything  with- 
out reserve.  .  .  . 

He  fears  that  perhaps  his  mother  is  having  some 
understanding  with  me.  She  is  in  the  habit  of  trac- 
ing all  his  secrets.  ...  I  point  out  to  him  the  fact 
that  the  mothers  of  homosexuals  always, show  the 
strongest  opposition  against  the  analysis  when  they 
find  out  that  their  sons  free  themselves  and  turn 
their  affection  (temporarily,  of  course)  to  the 
analyst.  Sigma's  mother,  who  has  accompanied  him 
to  Vienna,  also  tolerates  no  intimate  friendship  on 
her  son's  part,  as  we  know.  Thus  he  tells  me  that  she 
had  reproached  him  yesterday  for  leaving  her  alone 
on  Sunday.  She  wants  to  be  everything  to  him. 
She  also  tries  to  be  tender  with  him,  to  coddle  him, 
a  habit  which  he  strongly  resents.  He  believes  that 
this  resentment  is  due  to  his  aversion  against  all 
womanhood.  This  sort  of  protection  against  all 
tendernesses  on  mother's  part  is  typical  of  all  sons 
who  are  incestuously  fixed  on  their  mother. 

He  relates  how  his  mother  once  confessed  to  him 
that  she  found  no  support  in  his  father  and  ac- 


250  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

tually  felt  lonely.  On  that  occasion  he  wept  over 
his  mother's  plight  and  passed  a  sleepless  night. 
.  .  .  His  further  associations  lead  him  to  his 
father's  fatal  illness:  it  was  a  slow  breaking  down 
due  to  cancer.  He  could  not  take  care  of  his  father, 
and  was  but  of  little  service  to  the  latter.  It  was 
shortly  after  his  father  had  dismissed  his  friend. 
He  was  still  too  absorbed  in  his  own  troubles.  He 
witnessed  with  detachment  the  terrible  phases  of 
the  dying  man's  last  struggle.  A  few  days  before 
the  end  he  dreamed  that  he  saw  his  father's  body 
lying  peacefully  on  the  bier.  It  was  plainly  a  dream 
of  impatience.  He  could  hardly  await  his  father's 
passing  away.  He  declares  that  he  hated  his  father 
heartily  at  the  time,  because  the  latter  had  allowed 
himself  to  be  induced  by  the  mother  to  write  that 
letter  to  his  friend.  Strangely,  he  was  never  so 
angry  with  his  determined  mother  as  he  was  with 
his  weak-willed  father.  During  the  father's  funeral 
and  upon  returning  home  he  was  unable  to  weep. 
This  occurrence  is  typical  of  those  men  for  whom 
a  death  is  the  fulfillment  of  an  old  wish.  In  point 
of  fact  the  father  was  a  burden  and  drag  in  the 
house.  The  mother  sacrificed  herself  and  his  death 
was  a  release  for  everybody.  Moreover  his  atti- 
tude towards  his  father  had  always  been  rather 
peculiar.  They  had  never  had  much  in  com- 
mon. .  .  . 

He  reports  a  number  of  small  details  illustrating 


Attitude  towards  the  Mother  251 

how  tirelessly  his  mother  endeavors  to  bind  him  to 
herself.  Yesterday  afternoon  he  was  at  the  theater 
and  later  went  to  the  Prater.  In  the  evening  he 
found  his  mother  morose  and  pouting.  She  looked 
At  him  reproachfully  saying:  "Did  it  not  occur  to 
you  during  your  rounds  of  pleasure  that  you  are 
leaving  your  poor  mother  alone?" 

He  must  think  only  of  his  mother  and  always  feel 
that  he  is  bound  to  her  forever.  Aunts  and  neigh- 
bors always  come  to  him  to  tell  him  how  much  suf- 
fering he  causes  his  poor  mother  by  neglecting  her. 
While  he  was  still  suffering  acutely  the  distress 
caused  by  his  mother's  breaking  up  his  friendship 
with  Ernst,  he  met  the  latter  once  secretly  and  they 
went  to  a  theater  together.  The  mother  knew  it 
in  some  way  and  when  he  returned  home  he  found 
her  in  bed,  her  head  wrapped  in  towels.  Her  dis- 
appointment made  her  ill  and  she  had  to  keep  to  her 
bed  for  a  week.  Finally  an  aunt  accused  him  of 
behaving  like,  a  murderer  towards  his  mother.  She 
cannot  understand  that  passion  of  his  for  that 
friend!  Was  he  perhaps  in  love  with  the  young 
man's  sister?  Happy  to  have  a  way  out  of  his 
difficulty  suggested  to  him  he  answered  the  question 
in  the  affirmative.  That  roused  his  mother's  jeal- 
ousy to  the  highest  pitch.  But  she  soon  convinced 
herself  that  she  had  been  fooled  by  him  and  that  he 
had  no  interest  whatever  in  the  girl. 

He  found  the  household  ties  so  unbearable  that  at 


252  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

one  time  he  entertained  the  notion  of  shooting  his 
parents  and  running  off.  There  were  frequent  quar- 
rels during  which  he  displayed  unexpectedly  a  ter- 
rible venom  against  his  mother  and  an  unexplain- 
able  tendency  to  violence.  But  these  episodes  soon 
blew  over,  and  he  again  felt  himself  helpless  under 
the  tyrannic  sway  of  her  love.  Perhaps  not  as  un- 
willingly as  he  makes  out  .  .  .  for  there  were  op- 
portunities available  for  freeing  himself  and  he  did 
not  take  advantage  of  them.  He  remained  inac- 
tively at  home,  to  be  taken  care  of  and  to  allow  his 
mother  to  worry  over  him.  .  .  . 

He  dreamed  of  visiting  numerous  urinals  running 
from  one  to  the  other.  This  dream  portrays  him 
as  searching  for  something.  It  appears  that  he  is 
trying  to  trace  down  a  particular  infantile  scene. 
He  relates  how  obsessed  he  becomes  with  the  desire 
to  go  from  lavatory  to  lavatory  until  he  finally  sees 
the  longed-for  scene.  He  is  seldom  satisfied.  Often 
there  follows  a  feeling  of  disappointment  and  dis- 
gust. Occasionally  an  uncommon  sense  of  peace 
during  which  he  is  able  to  gather  his  thoughts. 

"I  did  not  tell  you  the  truth  when  I  denied  trans- 
vestitism  (Verkleidungstrieb).  I  often  entertain 
such  fancies.  I  am  particularly  fond  of  Salome 
and  I  often  portrayed  myself  in  that  role  with 
keenest  interest.  My  teachers  were  the  prophets 
whose  cold,  severed  head  I  kissed." 

This  trend  distinctly  sadistic  is  fortified  by  nu- 


Jealousy  Fancies  253 

merous  small  details.  He  is  jealous.  He  saw  once 
his  friend  entertaining  himself  in  friendly  and 
lengthy  conversation  with  a  lady  and  the  thought 
occurred  to  him  that  perhaps  his  friend  was  in  love 
with  her.  He  figured  that  he  would  be  justified  to 
take  his  friend's  life  for  he  loved  him  more  than  any 
one  else  in  the  world.  He  pictured  to  himself  that 
deed  and  what  he  would  do  to  his  friend.  The  chief 
motive  he  confessed  reluctantly:  "I  should  abuse 
sexually  his  body."  With  that  fancy  there  is  linked 
also  the  portrayal  of  immense  sadness. 

The  two  features  he  mentions  today  are  repre- 
sented in  the  Merchant  of  Venice.  A  scene  which 
always  excited  him,  representing  transvestitism. 
Portia  as  judge  and  the  Jew  bent  on  carving  out  a 
pound  of  flesh.  Shylock  and  Salome.  The  bloody 
head  of  John  is  obvious  enough. 

Today,  too,  he  is  in  a  hurry  and  must  get  through 
quickly.  He  is  always  relieved  when  the  hour  is 
over.  This  raises  the  suspicion  that  he  is  trying  to 
cover  up  further  revelations.  .  .  . 

He  relates  particulars  regarding  his  homicidal 
fancies  against  his  friends.  His  favored  phantasy 
is  the  thought  of  pushing  his  favored  friend  into 
an  abyss.  They  often  take  walks  on  the  seashore. 
At  a  certain  spot  the  coast  is  very  steep  and  rocky 
and  a  fall  there  would  mean  certain  death.  He  is 
also  obsessed  with  the  reflection:  what  would  he  do 
afterwards?  Run  away?  No  ...  he  would  jump 


254  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

after  his  friend  to  be  united  with  the  latter  in 
death.  .  .  . 

The  next  dream  carries  us  deeply  into  the  struc- 
ture of  his  homosexuality.  First  he  relates  the 
dream  as  he  had  written  it  down  and  then  he  adds 
reluctantly  the  portion  indicated  as  "additional." 
The  addition  usually  contains  the  most  important 
features. 

The  dream  just  before  falling  asleep: 

Place:  the  grotto  across  the  Schonbrunn  Castle. 
I  was  descending  the  rocky  incline  and  reached  the 
lowermost  declivity.  I  was  very  much  afraid  of 
falling  into  the  water  basin.  I  was  wondering  what 
to  do,  and  I  had  the  feeling  that  back  of  me,  in- 
stead of  rocks  there  were  high  stairs  which  I  could 
never  climb  up.  Suddenly  I  found  myself  on  level 
ground,  beyond  the  water.  An  automobile  passed 
me  by  noiselessly  and  with  lightning  rapidity  dis- 
appearing specter-like  in  the  bushes.  I  saw  no 
driver  and  nobody  else  in  the  machine.  It  seemed 
very  uncanny  but  presently  I  knew  that  I  was  at 
home  and  in  my  bed.  I  should  have  liked  to  keep 
on  dreaming  but  the  wish  to  hold  on  to  what  I  had 
dreamed  thus  far  prevailed  over  all  other  desires. 
I  was  afraid  I  should  forget  my  phantasy  so  far 
as  it  had  unfolded  and  that  I  should  have  nothing 
to  report  to  my  consultant. 

Shortly  afterwards  I  fell  actually  asleep  and  I 


Dreams  255 

dreamed  a  great  deal.  I  have  tried  to  recall  some 
of  the  things  in  the  morning.  It  seems  noteworthy 
that  the  dreams  were  but  lightly  intimated  rather 
than  carried  out;  there  was  always  still  something 
more  about  to  take  place  but  the  next  dream  pic- 
ture intruded  before  the  previous  one  was  all  done. 
Additional:  Once  I  found  myself  in  a  theater 
in  the  first  row  of  a  balcony.  Tristan  was  being 
given  for  the  occasion.  Instead  of  the  orchestra 
leader,  Andre  Rose  was  leading.  A  fine  one-year 
volunteer,  Einjahrig-Freiwilliger,  back  of  me,  in  the 
second  row,  was  singing  Tristan  in  the  style  of  the 
modern  recital  song.  Next  to  me  sat  my  aunt  who 
is  linked  with  memories  of  my  kindergarten  age.  I 
had  the  unpleasant  feeling  that  I  was  involuntarily 
sliding  down  towards  the  ground  floor,  and  there- 
fore I  leaned  heavily  back  in  my  seat  stretching  out 
my  legs  and  trying  to  support  myself  by  pressing 
my  toes  against  tJie  foot  support  (bed  foot-board?). 
I  had  the  uncanny  feeling  that  the  foot  rest  might 
give  way  and  fall  off  like  a  piece  of  paste  board.  I 
begged  my  aunt  to  lift  me  carefully.  I  felt  like  a 
very  sick  person.  Sitting  again  upright  I  felt  well 
and  refreshed  and  I  was  just  in  time  to  see  the  cur- 
tain drop  over  the  stage  and  a  number  of  persons 
appearing  in  front  of  it,  among  them  several  gentle- 
men in  evening  dress.  Obviously  the  performance  it 
being  cancelled.  The  public  broke  into  ironic  ap- 
plause, whistled  and  howled. 


256  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Another  dream:  Late  at  night  in  a  big  garden. 
Many  people  about  to  take  their  leave  after  an 
afternoon  spent  in  irrelevant  gossip.  My  parents 
were  also  among  those  present.  My  -father  was  in 
a  hurry  to  get  to  town.  He  leaves.  It  is  very  dark. 
Presently  a  station  bell,  the  whistle  of  a  locomotive. 
I  shout  into  the  night's  darkness  not  knowing 
whether  any  one  hears  me  or  not:  he  is  lucky!  He 
is  just  in  time  to  catch  the  train.  And  I  think  of 
following  in  an  hour.  I  am  very  tired.  I  am  happy 
in  my  bed  at  home. 

Sunny  afternoon  in  a  poor  quarter  of  a  suburb. 
Under  a  window  of  an  apartment  window  there  are 
a  number  of  tin  vessels  which  I  know,  belong  to  the 
woman  above.  An  elderly  woman  is  preoccupied 
with  the  vessels,  holding  each  vessel  up  to  the  light, 
as  if  testing  them,  but  I  know  that  she  is  merely 
awaiting  the  opportunity  to  run  off  with  them.  A 
window  is  raised  in  the  neighboring  house,  a  woman 
calls  out  to  the  woman  living  in  the  apartment 
under  whose  window  the  vessels  are  lying,  to  watch 
out  for  the  stranger.  By  that  time  I  myself  am 
standing  in  the  owner's  room.  She  is  just  putting 
on  her  best  toilette.  The  warning  neighbor  appears 
and  scolds  the  vain  woman  who  on  account  of  her 
vanity  neglects  to  watch  out  for  her  things. 

Addition:  /  was  in  the  next  room.  The  woman 
had  a  little  girl  with  her.  I  held  my  penis  in  hand 


Dreams  257 

pursued  the  two  and  wanted  them  to  take  it  in  their 
hand;  and  thus  the  ejaculation.  .  .  . 

The  woman's  hands  disgusted  me  because  they 
were  dirty. 

'  This  is  hardly  the  place  for  a  complete  analysis 
of  the  whole  dream.  The  first  part,  the  falling  into 
a  deep  basin  is  a  hypnagogic  vision  and  represents 
the  process  of  falling  asleep,  the  descent  into  the 
depths  of  primordial  man.  The  rapidly  passing 
automobile,  the  danger.  The  representation  of 
Tristan  refers  to  a  great  passion  for  a  queen. 
Schceribrunn,  the  former  Kaiser's  summer  residence, 
refers  to  the  parental  home.  Isolde  is  also  a  queen, 
who  is  lost  forever  for  Tristan.  Is  it  not  rather 
remarkable  that  he  should  dream  of  Tristan  and 
Isolde,  the  quintessential  epic  of  heterosexual  love? 
And  does  not  the  cancellation  correspond  precisely 
to  his  cryptic  wish?  The  thought  of  a  fall  into  the 
depths  is  continually  recurring  as  well  as  the  in- 
hibitions about  things  not  holding  out  (hence  the 
steadying  with  the  feet  for  support).  The  man  in 
evening  dress  represents  the  love  of  a  modern  cul- 
tural man  in  contrast  with  a  Tristan.  He  himself 
is  Tristan,  the  onlooker  and  the  singing  Einjdhrig- 
Freitvillige.  Finally  another  picture:  parting,  i.e., 
his  father's  death:  "He  was  lucky."  What  is  the 
meaning  of  that?  He  has  caught  the  train  on  time! 


258  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Recalling  that  in  one  of  his  previous  dreams  the 
subject  was  unable  to  catch  the  electric  car,  we 
understand  that  his  father  found  time  to  attain  his 
aim, — a  tempo — while  he  himself  is  late.  We  shall 
be  informed  presently  about  the  meaning  of  this 
aim.  And  back  of  all  inhibitions  another  picture 
breaks  forth:  he  runs  after  an  old  woman  with  his 
erect  membrum  (the  child  is  a  symbol  for  the  geni- 
talia.  Cp.,  in  this  connection,  The  Language  of 
Dreams,  Dreams  and  Sex,  Chapter,  "Children  in 
Dreams,"  translation  by  James  S.  Van  Teslaar,  Bad- 
ger, Gorham  Press,  Boston,  1922). 

He  is  not  a  little  surprised  that  his  dreams  por- 
tray heterosexual  feelings.  Heretofore  he  had  paid 
no  attention  to  his  dreams. 

I  have  not  yet  stated  whom  the  old  woman  repre- 
sents. He  is  asked  to  mention  any  woman  that 
occurs  to  him  and  after  some  hesitation  he  states: 
my  mother. 

Here  we  come  across  one  of  the  roots  of  his  homo- 
sexuality, one  that  perhaps  we  anticipated.  But 
thus  far  I  avoided  any  inquiries  about  his  attitude 
towards  the  mother. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  that  portion  of  the  dream 
which  portrays  a  number  of  tin  dishes?  I  perceive 
this  as  follows :  He  does  not  possess  many  treasures, 
it  is  all  mere  tin,  but  such  as  it  is  it  all  belongs  to 
the  woman  above  .  .  .  the  mother.  The  neighbor 
warns  the  mother  that  another  woman  might  rob  her 


Dreams  259 

of  her  son's  affection.  The  mother  is  very  vain  and 
spends  considerable  time  preparing  her  toilette. 

The  key  to  the  dream  rests  in  the.  pollution  with 
which  it  ends  and  the  deepest  effect:  the  disgust  on 
account  of  the  dirty,  unclean  hands  of  the  woman 
above. 

We  see  that  the  pollution  is  slowly  prepared. 
First  there  is  a  representation  of  the  heterosexual 
love  (Tristan).  But  his  inner  voices — the  public — 
express  themselves  against  that  love,  the  latter  is 
deprecated:  there  is  whistling  and  shouting  and 
ironic  applause.  Next  the  father  is  upon  the  scene 
of  action.  He  is  represented  in  the  act  of  leaving. 
Other  women  appear, — the  old  woman,  the  neighbor. 
But  the  orgasm  is  achieved  only  through  the  "woman 
above"  ("upstairs," — Frau  da  oben,  literally,  woman 
above), — the  mother.  This  form  of  pollution,  which 
at  bottom  represents  merely  an  unconscious  onanism 
(unclean  hands!)  brings  on  a  feeling  of  disgust  in 
him. 

The  next  dream  portrays  a  scene  in  which  a  man 
talks  about  his  son.  The  scene  takes  place  in  a 
lavatory.  Probably  this  reproduces  an  infantile 
scene  wherein  he  may  have  observed  his  father  at 
the  lavatory.  The  dream  following  that  is  much 
clearer.  I  reproduce  here  both: 

/  found  myself  in  a  lavatory  compartment  and  1 
watched  my  "victim"  The  man  turned  his  back  to 


260  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

me  and  spoke  to  himself  about  his  son.  I  noticed 
that  the  woman  guardian  was  keeping  watch  on  me 
from  the  outside  and  I  started  to  leave,  grabbing 
my  hat  just  as  she  was  opening  the  door  to  catch  me 
at  my  observation  post.  I  acted  as  if  I  were  un- 
concerned, quietly  picked  up  my  handkerchief  on 
which  I  had  knelt  down,  picked  off  the  floor  the 
various  things  of  mine  that  were  still  strewn  about, 
gloves,  muffler,  etc.,  and  went  off  with  the  feeling 
that  through  my  cool  behavior  I  disarmed  the 
woman  of  her  suspicions  and  had  avoided  a  public 
scandal.  .  .  . 

I  went  upstairs  to  a  wide  open  store.  Half  way 
across  I  saw  the  saleswoman  standing  in  a  corner. 
At  the  sight  of  her  I  am  seized  with  tremendous 
bowel  cramps.  I  turned  around  and  defecate  pub- 
licly in  the  room.  The  woman  over  there  will  not 
see  me? 

This  dream  reminds  him  of  the  childhood  incident 
already  mentioned:  When  he  was  two  years  of  age 
he  was  playing  out  of  doors  with  another  boy  who 
prepared  himself  to  move  his  bowels  close  to  the 
street,  in  the  open.  Now  he  admits  also  that  his  own 
libido  is  greatly  increased  if  he  imagines  he  is 
watched  during  defecation.  This  is  a  typical  in- 
stance of  sexual  infantilism.  He  is  not  only  voyeur ; 
he  is  also  exhibitionist. 

The  first  dream  discloses  the  fear  that  the  mother, 


Dreams  261 

the  guardian,  might  find  out  his  scatological  ten- 
dencies. In  the  second,  the  woman  upstairs  was  the 
onlooker  during  an  infantile  scene.  It  reproduces 
undoubtedly  a  frequent  scene  of  childhood. 

He  has  carried  out  a  number  of  homosexual  acts 
at  public  baths.  In  Denmark  the  men  bathe  to- 
gether in  steam  rooms.  Thus  he  had  opportunity 
to  permit  himself  bodily  contact  with  others  to  the 
extent  of  inducing  ejaculatio.  He  must  also  add 
something  to  yesterday's  dream  about  defecation. 
Once  at  the  seashore  he  heard  a  man  groan  in  the 
lavatory.  He  climbed  upon  the  side  wall  and  saw 
the  man  masturbate.  This  so  excited  him  that  he 
climbed  down  at  once  and  also  masturbated.  The 
stranger  revenged  himself  by  looking  on  in  his  turn 
and  that  increased  tremendously  the  subject's  libido. 

His  dreams  today  are  very  characteristic. 

/  am  in  a  carriage  and  I  am  playing  with  an  infant 
in  swaddling  clothes.  I  would  gladly  be  rid  of  it.  A 
man  advises  me  to  pack  the  child  in  a  tin  box*  and  I 
actually  do  so. 

Interpretation :  he  wants  to  be  rid  of  his  infantil- 
ism; he  preserves  it  in  a  tin  box.  Compromise  be- 
tween the  two  trends.  The  next  dream  relates  about 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  who  stands  before  a  big  hole 
in  the  ground  and  who  interprets  that  hole  to  mean 
that  asceticism  is  not  a  possible  ideal.  It  is  neces- 
*Cp.  the  boxes  in  the  first  dream  (Merchant  of  Venice). 


262  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

sary  to  masturbate,  at  least  occasionally.  There 
were  roots  in  that  hole,  which  looked  like  hair.  Next 
he  is  with  his  mother  in  a  carriage.  The  mother 
turns  into  the  holy  Madonna  or  the  holy  Zara  (?) 

The  earth,  too,  stands  for  the  mother:  mother 
earth.  The  hole  refers  to  both,  birth  and  death. 
One  comes  from  the  mother  and  returns  to  the 
mother.  The  mother  appears  again  as  the  holy  one, 
and  as  the  Czarina,  hence  the  mystifying  Zara.  The 
father  is  the  Czar,  just  as  in  the  Tristan  dream  he 
is  represented  by  the  king.  Further  meaning  is 
obvious. 

Hairs  recall  his  peculiar  attitude.  Women's  hairs 
are  abhorrent  to  him.  His  mother  has  long  blond 
hair.  The  father  was  very  hairy.  Formerly  all 
hairy  men  were  abhorrent  to  him.  Downy,  young, 
feminine  men  are  his  ideal.  He  is  continually  seeking 
woman  in  man.  .  .  . 

He  reverts  once  more  to  the  dream  about  the  hole 
in  the  ground.  He  now  recalls  that  dream  very 
clearly. 

I  am  again  a  pupil  at  school  and  I  am  being  con- 
ducted to  confession  along  with  the  other  school 
mates.  We  stand  in  a  wide,  round  amphitheater 
scooped  out  of  the  ground.  The  natural  wall  rises 
to  a  height  of  about  2  meters,  all  around.  Above 
it  there  stands  a  wonderful  temple-like  edifice.  A 
monk  points  to  the  wet  spots  upon  the  earthen  walls 
and  compares  them  to  the  erotic  thoughts,  which 


Dreams  263 

are  also  not  to  be  rooted  out  of  the  believer's  con- 
science. I  notice  a  bunch  of  roots  on  the  wall  and 
involuntarily  I  think  of  pudendal  hair.  The  monk 
condemns  asceticism. 

A  dream  full  of  religious  meaning.  Already  in 
some  of  the  previous  dreams  the  woman  "upstairs," 
or  "above,"  was  perceived  through  religious  overde- 
termination  as  mother  Mary  to  whom  alone  his  love 
belongs  and  which  he  therefore  must  not  squander  on 
any  earthly  woman.  He  sees  his  grave  which  like  a 
memento  mori  admonishes  him  to  regard  this  life  as 
a  preparation  for  the  next. 

Woman  seems  to  be  here  the  quintessence  of  sin- 
fulness.  Now  we  understand  why  the  woman  up- 
stairs had  a  little  child  by  her.  It  was  little  Jesus. 
He  has  soiled  his  pure  faith.  The  brain  which  holds 
his  belief  (the  earthen  wall!)  is  likewise  stained  with 
his  sinful  erotic  thoughts. 

The  great  wall  surrounding  the  place  to  a  height 
of  a  couple  of  meters  symbolizes  all  the  inhibitions. 
He  himself  is  the  monk,  he  had  a  passing  desire  to 
become  an  ecclesiastic,  he  is  a  heterosexual 
ascete.  .  .  . 

Last  night  many  dreams  of  going  through  urinals. 
In  one  urinal  he  found  a  man  who  instead  of  a  phal- 
lus had  a  vagina. 

Dissolute  dreams.  Among  others  a  dream  that  he 
podicem  lambit  a  friend.  He  also  entertains  con- 
sciously fancies  of  like  character.  .  .  .  Further 


264  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

dreams  of  mutual  masturbation  with  a  strange  man. 
Finally  the  scraps  of  dreams  culminate  in  a  length- 
ier one  in  which  he  finds  himself  in  the  company  of 
the  girl  he  was  very  fond  of  as  a  boy.  The  struggle 
against  the  heterosexual  tendencies  goes  on  through- 
out the  night  and  finally  he  is  conquered. 

Obvious  resistance  against  the  uncovering  of  the 
heterosexual  tendencies. 

One  dream  out  of  a  large  number  deserves  to  be 
reproduced : 

I  go  on  a  walk  with  mother.  We  are  tender  with 
one  another  and  she  tells  me  sweet  words.  I  pluck 
wonderful  anemones  from  a  river  and  want  to  make 
a  garland  to  crown  my  mother  with  it.  But  the 
petals  fall  off  and  only  the  empty  green  stems  re- 
main in  my  hand. 

Any  one  familiar  with  the  symbolism  of  plucking 
flowers  (vid.  my  Dreams  and  Sex:  The  Language  of 
Dreams,  translated  by  Dr.  James  S.  Van  Teslaar, 
Badger,  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  1922,  Publisher) 
will  readily  recognize  that  this  is  a  reference  to  an 
indulgence  of  an  erotic  nature.  These  love  pats  lead 
to  empty  stems.  The  love  cannot  come  to  blossoms  or 
fruition. 

He  dwells  on  his  relations  with  his  mother.  It  is 
virtually  a  marriage  without  any  erotic  elements. 
He  does  not  tolerate  his  mother's  tendernesses  and 
he  has  asked  her  to  refrain.  There  is  now  between 


Bipolarity  265 

them  genuine  shyness.  Erotic  matters  are  never 
so  much  as  touched  upon.  Against  his  incestuous 
leanings  he  secures  himself  by  the  wall  of  an  apparent 
aloofness.  But  they  live  together,  they  go  out  to- 
gether, they  share  every  enjoyment.  His  mother 
is  a  woman  who  has  a  grip  on  his  whole  life.  And  at 
bottom  he  is  not  angry  because  she  has  interfered 
with  his  other  friendship.  He  understands  her,  that 
is,  he  sympathizes  with  her.  That  friendship  was 
an  attempt  to  free  himself  of  the  mother.  But  the 
mother  instinctively  did  the  right  thing  when  she 
stepped  in  between  her  son  and  his  friend.  He  does 
not  at  bottom  care  to  be  liberated  from  the  slavery 
of  his  affection.  He  allows  himself  to  be  led  about 
and  to  be  treated  as  a  child.  He  talks  as  if  the  love 
and  the  chain  were  disagreeable  to  him.  Both  trends 
— towards  the  mother  and  away  from  her — are  ac- 
tive in  his  soul :  bipolarity. 

The  treatment  should  improve  his  neurotic  condi- 
tion only  but  should  not  interfere  with  his  attitude 
towards  his  mother.  He  dreams  that  he  is  well  and 
that  he  tells  his  mother,  now  he  is  all  well  and  they 
are  going  to  be  happier  together  than  ever. 

In  connection  with  a  dream  another  love  affair 
comes  to  surface,  dating  some  16  years  back.  He 
courted  a  certain  girl  and  sent  her  some  poems.  He 
thinks  it  was  mere  play,  an  attempt  to  "imagine" 
that  he  was  also  capable  of  loving  girls.  That  is 
how  he  endeavors  to  dismiss  lightly  his  heterosexual 


266  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

tendencies.  But  he  thinks  that  the  love  poems  were 
irrelevant.  He  also  composed  poems  to  his  mother, 
when  he  was  away  from  home  for  a  short  time : 

"Du  mei/nes  keuschen  Herzens  Allgebieterin, 
Der  ich  mich  neige  in  tiefer  Demut  .  .  .  ' 

"You,  mistress  of  my  chaste  heart, 
To  whom  I  bow  in  deep  humility  .   .  ." 

The  verses  are  full  of  yearning  and  passion.  His 
blood  calls  for  her,  his  heart  is  filled  only  with  yearn- 
ing for  her.  These  are  the  utterances  of  a  man  who 
has  lost  his  head  by  falling  in  love. 

This  case  illustrates  plainly  the  manner  in  which 
monosexuality  leads  to  homosexuality.  But  the  sub- 
ject himself  did  not  want  to  recognize  any  of  these 
relations.  All  the  powers  of  sublimation  at  his  dis- 
posal he  had  turned  into  his  love  for  the  mother. 
Therefore  he  had  to  cling  to  a  portion  of  his  myso- 
philia  (dirt  compulsion).  What  he  overdid  on  one 
side  in  the  way  of  cleanliness  was  compensated  for 
on  the  other  by  a  sinking  into  filth.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  he  does  not  care  to  be  cleared  of  his  homo- 
sexuality. He  looks  upon  it  as  a  protection  and  as 
something  that  sets  him  apart  from  other  men.  This 
again  shows  the  hopelessness  of  any  therapeutic  en- 
deavors in  most  cases  of  this  type. 

Since  taking  account  of  his  dreams  he  is  astonished 


Dreams  267 

how  often  heterosexual  excitations  come  to  the  sur- 
face. Last  night  he  dreamed,  first,  that  he  was  with 
a  naked  woman,  of  wonderful  build  and  that  he  m 
vaginam  et  m  anum  immisit  his  finger. 

Further,  another  remarkable  dream,  which  played 
an  important  role  in  the  solution  of  his  neurosis : 

/  am  with  mother  at  the  Opera.  A  long  hallway 
at  the  end  of  which  one  obtains  a  view  of  Vienna. 
One  sees  the  wonderful  St.  Stephen's  Church,  a  fine 
cloud  like  a  smoke  or  like  a  fine  powdery  water  spray 
over  its  tower.  The  Opera  is  changed.  Instead  of 
Don  Juan,  the  Donna  carissima. 

Already  the  first  dream  indicated  a  definite  trend 
towards  woman  and  now  the  change  of  program  dis- 
closes the  source  of  his  neurosis.  I  ask  him  for  a 
description  of  the  woman  in  the  first  dream.  He 
did  not  see  her  face  at  all.  He  merely  saw  the  won- 
derful bewitching  white  body. 

Such  dreams — figures  without  faces — are  very  fre- 
quent and  serve  to  hide  the  beloved  person  and  to 
prevent  recognition.  I  know  dreamers  who  have  pol- 
lutions with  such  half  figures.  The  face  is  never 
visible.  Often  only  a  portion  of  the  body.  Through 
the  second  dream  we  may  assume  that  the  figure 
represents  the  mother.  Otherwise  it  is  hardily  pos- 
sible to  explain  why  the  face  should  have  been  sub- 
jected to  the  dream's  censorship. 


268  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

The  second  dream  belongs  to  the  category  of  ma- 
ternal body  fancies.  He  is  within  the  mother's 
womb.  The  long  passage  he  associates  with:  life's 
pathway.  It  is  in  fact  the  pathway  through  which 
he  came  into  life.  Stephen's  tower  A»  a  phallic  sym- 
bol. The  smoking  room,  ejaculatio  or  mictio.  It  is 
a  representation  of  the  illusion  that  he  is  within  the 
maternal  body  and  is  able  to  observe  from  that 
point  of  vantage  the  process  of  generation.  The 
dream  becomes  even  more  transparent  when  we  learn 
that  his  father's  name  is  Stephen.7 

Now  his  sexual  infantilism  becomes  intelligible. 
He  is  under  the  spell  of  Mutterleibsphantasie,  ma- 
ternal body  phantasy.  Every  lavatory  becomes  for 
him  the  symbol  of  the  maternal  body.  There  he 
watches  the  man  urinating  as  he  might  have  watched 
the  father  in  the  maternal  body  if  he  had  had  enough 
intelligence  to  do  so  as  an  embryo.  It  seems  unbe- 
lievable that  intelligent  persons  should  become  vic- 
tims of  so  puerile  a  phantasy.  Various  facts  al- 
ways uphold  the  sense  of  such  a  phantasy.  In  this 
particular  instance  there  was  dislike  for,  and  un- 
pleasant sensations  in,  closed  rooms,  also  a  series 
of  paraphiliac  trend  which  found  the.r  explanation 
only  through  that  phantasy.  He  revelled  in  the 
thought  of  permitting  himself  to  be  besprinkled 
with  the  spermatic  fluid  by  his  beloved  male  friend; 

7  Cp.  Sex  and  Dreams:  The  Language  of  Dreams,  vol.  I. 
Translation  by  James  S.  Van  Teslaar. 


Dreams  269 

he  had  a  craving  membrum  erectum  amati  viri  fel- 
lare;  his  urolagnic  and  coprolagnic  proclivities,  too, 
were  dominated  by  the  same  phantasy.  He  behaved 
as  if  he  were  still  in  the  maternal  body. 

But  the  dream  declares  clearly  that  a  change  of 
program  is  taking  place  in  the  play  of  his  life.  Don 
Juan  becomes  a  Donna — Carissima, — she  who  is 
most  dear  to  him.  He  has  changed  programs;  and 
the  love  for  the  father  he  has  transferred  to  his 
mother.  He  is  within  the  maternal  body, — he  him- 
self is  the  mother.  He  seeks  himself,  he  is  his  dearest 
woman,  he  loves  the  womanly  in  himself.  We  have 
here  the  never  absent  love  of  the  homosexual  for 
himself — narcissism. 

Various  recollections  come  to  surface,  all  showing 
alike  that  his  earliest  predisposition  was  distinctly 
heterosexual.  Thus,  for  instance,  at  five  years  of 
age  he  fell  in  love  with  a  girl,  wanted  to  marry  her, 
and  called  her  his  bride.  We  hear  only  of  three 
heterosexual  episodes  belonging  to  his  later  life. 
It  is  not  yet  clear  how  this  complete  turning  away 
from  woman  came  about.  Further  inquiries  reveal 
dreams  of  which  I  can  only  give  a  part.  Thus  he 
dreams : 

/  study  for  an  hour.  My  textbook  is  on  various 
physical  experiments,  further  on  it  turns  into  his- 
tory. There  is  something  in  it  about  Bavarian 
history.  The  year  IflOb  plays  an  important  role. 
The  whole  thing  ends  with  a  fairy  tale  about  three 


270  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

pines  which  stand  on  a  winter's  night  before  the 
house  and  signify  three  dead  women. 

Later  I  act  successfully  as  an  imitator  of  women. 

The  figure  4005  brings  the  following  associations : 
00  is  the  sign  for  lavatory;  45  is  the  opus  number 
of  one  of  his  favorite  opera  scores,  the  Salome  of 
Richard  Strauss;  4  and  5  are  the  bad  marks  at 
school. 

The  Salome  of  Strauss  and  a  previous  dream  lead 
us  to  his  sadistic  trends.  It  becomes  progressively 
clearer  that  his  aboriginal  sadism  was  extraordi- 
narily great.  To  this  day  he  revels  in  phantasies 
about  sexual  crimes,  violent  murders,  etc.  He  toyed 
with  the  plan  of  killing  himself  as  well  as  his  whole 
family.  Any  opposition  at  home  immediately  sug- 
gests to  him  thoughts  of  murder.  His  original  at- 
titude towards  woman,  too,  was  sadistic.  The  chief 
motive  of  Salome  is  the  severed  head  of  the  prophet. 
Also  the  pound  of  flesh  in  Shylock,  in  the  first  dream, 
refers  to  this  trend ;  finally  the  dream  about  the  bed- 
bug. His  religious  trend  set  in  early,  thus  protect- 
ing him  against  the  wild  beast  within  him.  At  six 
years  of  age  he  played  that  he  was  a  preacher  and  he 
had  his  own  altar.  He  fled  from  woman  because  he 
was  not  sure  of  himself.  .  .  . 

He  has  a  large  number  of  idiosyncrasies  which  may 
be  explained  through  a  repressed  sadism.  He  can- 
not eat  peaches  because  their  skins  resemble  human 


Peculiarities  271 

skin ;  he  cannot  tolerate  the  skin  on  parboiled  milk, 
it  brings  on  disgust  and  nausea;  he  often  turns 
against  meat  and  for  a  long  time  he  confined  himself 
to  vegetarianism.  Meat  he  calls  animal  carcass.  The 
thought  of  a  menstruating  woman  is  particularly  re- 
pulsive to  him.  All  associations  with  blood  are 
strongly  affective,  partly  in  a  positive  and  partly  in 
a  negative  way. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  three  pines  which 
symbolize  dead  women  in  the  dream?  Has  he  lost 
three  female  ideals?  He  associates  with  "Ein  Fich- 
tenbaum  stand  einsam  im  Norden  auf  kahler  Hohe" 
etc.,  "a  pine  tree  stood  lonely  on  the  bleak  heights 
of  the  north,"  the  famous  poem  by  Heine.  That  pine 
tree  dreams  of  palms  in  the  glowing  climate  of  the 
Southern  Country.  There  are  no  further  associa- 
tions. The  theme  "dead  women"  is  met  with  con- 
siderable resistance. 

I  pass  over  a  number  of  days  which  amounted 
merely  to  a  preparation  for  the  coming  solution; 
and  I  shall  report  merely  the  most  significant  of  the 
dream  material. 

Very  important  appears  the  following  dream : 

Standing  with  -father  at  a  wide  stream.  A  little 
white  steamboat  departs  from  us,  turning  and  twist- 
ing like  a  reptile.  I  would  have  liked  very  much  to 
be  on  it  (though  I  do  not  know  where  I  could  have 
found  place,  it  was  like  a  microcosm).  The  ship  is 


272  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

delayed  and  now  we  have  to  return  by  tram.  That 
the  ship  would  have  made  better  time  is  an  opinion 
I  dare  not  share  with  father. 

Next  day  I  enter  a  grotto  through  which  a  number 
of  others  are  wandering  ahead  of  me.  The  pathway 
is  tortuous  and  leads  upwards.  Who  among  my  ac- 
quaintances is  joining  me  I  do  not  know.  My  whole 
attention  is  centered  on  snakes  which  I  carry  on  a 
cord.  They  have  very  friendly  heads,  yet  some- 
how I  have  the  impression  they  can  bite.  I  say  to 
some  one  close  by  that  their  poison  glands  have 
already  been  removed.  Eventually  I  reach  a  house  in 
full  daylight  and  at  the  top  they  turn  into  dogs 
who  escape  my  control  and  quickly  clatter  down  the 
deep  stairway.  Presently  they  are  back  and  allow 
meekly  to  be  held  in  leash. 

A  t  home  I  find  a  package  of  handkerchiefs  neatly 
wrapped  m  tissue  paper, 

This  is  a  combination  of  a  spermatozoon  dream 
and  a  maternal  body  phantasy.  The  stream  in  which 
the  tiny  boat  is  moving  about,  the  life  stream,  the 
stream  of  spermatic  fluid  carries  a  particular  sper- 
matozoon, himself.  He,  now  grown  up,  wants  to  re- 
vert back  to  the  tiny  thing,  wiggling  like  a  reptile. 
He  wants  to  be  tiny  again,  not  a  child  merely,  a 
spermatozoon  (Samenfaden).  He  is  dissatisfied  with 
life  and  would  like  to  begin  his  life  all  over.  The 
path  leads  from  the  stream  into  a  grotto  cave, — the 


Dreams  273 

maternal  body.  At  the  same  time  the  dream  symbo- 
lizes his  whole  life,  which  leads  him  upwards  through 
pitfalls  and  dangers  to  the  sunshiny  heights.  His 
thoughts  are  represented  here  as  snakes.  They 
have  friendly  heads,  to  be  sure,  i.  e.f  sin  beckons,  but 
he  holds  them  captive.  All  sins  are  overcome,  all 
snakes  are  captive  and  wear  muzzles.  The  shiny 
house  is  the  church.  Thus  this  dream  shows  the 
life's  beginning  and  end. 

The  next  dream  about  handkerchiefs,  becomes  in- 
telligible when  we  find  out  that  he  masturbates  into 
his  handkerchiefs.  The  packing  in  tissue  paper 
shows  that  the  specific  masturbatory  phantasy  is 
covered  up. 

The  dream  is  concerned  with  the  father.  During 
the  last  few  days  he  has  been  thinking  a  great  deal 
about  his  father.  He  tells  me  about  that : 

"I  have  had  some  hard  days  and  I  only  see  now 
how  strongly  I  was  fixed  on  father  and  what  a  tre- 
mendous role  he  has  played  in  my  life.  Yesterday 
I  felt  in  me  all  the  strong  hatred  that  I  bore  for 
years  against  father." 

"Why  did  you  hate  your  father?" 

"In  the  first  place  because  he  made  me  and  passed 
on  to  me  his  weakly  characteristics.  Such  men 
should  have  no  children.  I  have  taken  over  all  his 
morbid  predispositions.  Then  I  hated  him  because 
he  parted  me  from  my  friend  through  that  letter 
which  he  wrote  at  mother's  behest." 


274  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

"Then  you  ought  to  hate  your  mother.  Is  it 
not  strange  that  you  should  condone  the  same  con- 
duct in  the  mother  but  not  in  the  father?  You  seem 
to  appreciate  your  mother's  side  but  not  your 
father's." 

"Naturally,  when  you  put  it  that  way  I  see  clearly 
that  I  was  unfair  to  father.  The  letter  was  but  an 
excuse  for  the  great  hatred.  I  recall  with  shudder- 
ing his  last  day.  I  had  the  feeling  that  father  was 
afraid  of  me.  He  gazed  at  me  continually  with  his 
great  glassy  eyes  while  holding  on  to  mother's  hand. 
I  felt  something  like  jealousy  over  mother, — now  I 
know  that  I  was  always  jealous.  My  maternal  body 
phantasy  means,  of  course,  that  I  want  to  be  present 
at  the  parental  love  act.  I  want  to  replace  the  fa- 
ther in  mother's  life.  As  a  small  child  I  loved  him 
very  devotedly  and  I  suffered  on  account  of  his  cool- 
ness. He  was  immeasurably  loving  and  devoted; 
nevertheless  I  felt  that  there  was  something  lack- 
ing." 

He  looked  for  tendernesses  from  his  father.  To 
this  day  he  indulges  in  two  phantasies  during  his 
sexual  acts.  He  is  the  boy  watching  his  father  dur- 
ing coitus.  That  is  the  particular  lavatory  phantasy 
when  he  watches  elderly  men.  He  permits  himself  to 
be  used  as  a  receptaculum  seminis  by  a  favored  per- 
son. (Strong  desire  to  carry  on  fellatio  on  his  teach- 
ers or  to  subject  himeslf  to  pederasty.)  He  is  within 


Dream*  275 

the  maternal  body  wnd  wird  vom  Vater  pdderastiert 
oder  felliert.  Or  else,  he  himself  is  the  father,  he 
identifies  himself  with  the  latter,  and  seeks  young 
boys  who  in  that  case  stand  for  himself. 

But  we  see  that  these  phantasies  differ  as  widely 
as  possible  from  reality.  He  is  unable  to  secure 
his  contact  with  reality,  because  he  is  continually  un- 
der the  sway  of  the  maternal  body  phantasy,  as 
shows  by  his  peeping  into  lavatories. 

His  love  for  the  father  proves  to  be  the  strongest 
root  of  his  homosexuality.  He  wanted  to  assume 
the  mother's  place  in  the  father's  life.  In  his  phan- 
tasies he  is  either  the  father  or  the  mother;  he 
has  not  attained  his  own  individuality.  He  loves 
himself  either  with  maternal  or  with  paternal  feel- 
ings. 

I  record  the  following  dream  among  many  others. 
It  shows  us  his  typical  attitude  towards  the  mother: 

Am  going  with  mother  to  the  country  where  "we 
expect  to  spend  a  few  days  to  recuperate  ourselves. 
Locality:  forest  neighborhood.  The  journey,  stop- 
ping station,  roadway  familiar  partly  from  actuality 
partly  through  previous  dreams.  Wonderful  woods 
with  fragrant  blooming  flowers.  But  the  blooms 
show  numerous  brown  spots  of  decay,  as  after  ex- 
cessive rains.  Elder  bushes  badly  torn  up  by  the 
weather  and  by  plunderers.  The  path  leads  to  an 


270  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

incline  which  offers  a  view  of  the  numerous  villas  in 
the  valley.  I  find  that  we  have  wandered  off,  in 
order  to  reach  the  place  where  we  proposed  to  stay 
for  a  while;  we  should  have  taken  the  path  to  the 
right  half  way  up  the  road. 

This  dream  represents  a  love  whose  bloom  is  de~ 
caying.  They  have  wandered  off  (note  the  double 
meaning  of  the  expression,  vergeheri),  and  they  are 
off  the  right  path. 

His  past  is  illumined  not  only  by  his  dreams. 
Among  his  youthful  compositions  he  finds  a  poem 
which  portrays  clearly  a  paternal  body  phantasy  and 
speaks  longingly  of  the  time  when  he  was  yet  "un- 
formed and  rested  quietly  in  his  father's  loins."  .  .  . 

The  revelations  in  the  course  of  the  following  days 
bring  to  light  new  associations.  His  reveries  con- 
tinually slight  the  immediate  past  and  carry  him 
back  over  a  number  of  generations.  He  is  a  person 
of  wonderful  ancestry,  he  is  not  at  all  the  son  of  his 
father,  he  is  a  child  whom  gypsies  have  changed  in 
the  cradle,  he  has  fallen  into  the  midst  of  his  family 
by  accident. 

It  turns  out  that  two  lives  were  much  talked  of 
at  home  and  that  has  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  de- 
termining his  life  course  and  specifically  his  fear  of 
woman.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  his  father's  life. 
The  man  had  been  previously  married  to  a  woman 
whom  he  caught  in  a  breach  of  marital  faithfulness 


Dream  Associations  277 

and  it  led  him  to  fight  a  duel.  He  carried  a  scar  on 
his  forehead  as  a  memento.  Then,  an  uncle  took  his 
life  when  he  found  out  that  his  wife  whom  he  con- 
sidered loyal,  proved  unfaithful. 

These  lessons  stood  before  his  eyes  already  when 
he  was  a  mere  boy.  They  served  as  terrible  warn- 
ings :  beware  of  woman ! 

During  the  next  days  his  fear  of  woman  is  the 
chief  theme  of  his  associations.  His  father's  and 
his  uncle's  fate  stand  before  him  as  a  perpetual 
warning.  Already  as  a  small  child  he  had  absorbed 
very  clearly  the  thought :  one  must  beware  of  women ! 
His  mother  did  everything  to  fix  permanently  this 
fear  in  his  mind. 

But  every  fear  is  the  fear  of  self.  This  fear 
of  women  must  have  a  deeper  determinant.  The 
deeper  relations  are  indicated  by  the  following 
dream: 

I  am  on  the  street  and  it  is  towards  evening.  The 
roadbed  in  front  of  me  is  badly  torn  up.  A  wagon 
drives  by;  it  rolls  past  at  dusk  and  the  farther  end 
of  the  street  is  already  plunged  in  darkness.  Horse 
and  driver  will  not  be  able  to  see  that  the  road  is 
torn.  A  powerful  bear  jumps  up  to  warn  the  horse, 
the  driver  draws  tight  his  reins,  the  animal  turns 
around  at  the  same  time  holding  his  head  anxiously 
away  from  the  torn  pavement  until  he  finally  reaches 
again  the  straight  road.  Before  the  wagon  disap- 


278  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

pears  into  the  night  the  powerful  bear  jumps  once 
more  at  it. 

I  am  tremendously  roused  to  think  that  such  wild 
animals  are  sent  out  as  warning.  There  might  be 
small  children  in  the  wagon  who  would  be  frightened 
to  death. 

Every  statement  in  this  dream  is  a  psychic  «dis- 
closure.  The  dream  records  his  life's  journey.  A 
portion  of  the  street  is  torn  and  impassable.  He  can 
only  go  through  the  homosexual  pathway.  The  het- 
erosexual is  so  broken  up  as  to  be  unusable.  It  is 
dark  and  he  might  easily  meet  with  disaster  in*his 
life's  journey  over  this  point.  The  darkness  sym- 
bolizes the  forgetting,  of 'the  aboriginal  determinants; 
the  driver  is  consciousness,  the  horses  are  the  in- 
stincts. 

A  bear  warns  him  of  the  dangers  of  the  torn-up 
road.  He  is  angered  at  this  form  of  warning.  The 
reference  to  small  children  shows  that  the  warnings 
date  back  to  childhood,  when  he  was  actually  threat- 
ened with  a  bear. 

"There  may  be  small  children  in  the  wagon  who 
would  be  frightened  to  death,"  records  the  dream. 
As  a  child  he  has  heard  repeatedly  about  his  uncle's 
suicide,  because  of  the  wife's  faithlessness.  In  the 
depths  of  his  soul  this  story  could  not  but  act  as  a 
perpetual  warning  against  woman.  The  story  of  his 
father's  duel,  too,  and  the  latter*s  scar  on  the  fore- 


Dream,  Associations  279 

head  influenced  his  childhood  and  filled  him  with 
fear  of  woman.8  It  made  him  resolve  to  submit  to  no 
woman.  And  is  not  hatred  the  surest  self-defence 
against  the  dangers  of  love? 

Who  or  what  is  the  mysterious  bear  in  the  dreams  ? 
Naturally, — like  every  figure  in  the  dream,  it  is  the 
dreamer  himself.  There  is  the  power  of  a  wild  beast 
in  his  breast.  We  recall  that  one  of  his  dreams  was 
staged  at  Schoribrun,  the  Zoological  Garden  of 
Vienna,  where  the  wild  beasts  may  be  seen.  We 
recall  Shylock,  the  pound  of  flesh,  and  the  various 
sadistic  determinants  of  his  neurosis. 

We  now  approach  the  kernel  of  his  homosexual 
neurosis  which  turns  out  to  consist  of  a  powerful 
protective  wall  against  his  criminal  self.  His  at- 
titude towards  woman  is  characterized  by  a  tre- 
mendous hatred.  He  is  a  Lusttnorder,  the  wild  bear 
who  attacks  women,  who  strangles  them  and  would 
drink  their  blood.  The  bear  represents  his  own  im- 
age and  a  terrible  warning. 

Beware  of  the  women!  It  will  turn  you  into  a 
murderer.  Better  remain  a  child,  enjoy  whatever 
brings  gratification  to  a  child.  Woe  to  you  if  your 
life's  journey  should  lead  you  through  the  open  road 
where  all  wild  passions  lurk  which  have  already  filled 
you  as  a  child!  Oh,  better  if  you  had  never  been 
born,  or  if  you  could  begin  life  all  over.  .  .  . 

*  Cp.  Chapter  on  Maternal  Body  Dreamt,  in  work  mentioned 
above,  Vol.  II. 


280  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Blood  is  his  true  requirement.  Spermatic  fluid, 
urine,  faeces, — all  these  are  substitutions  represent- 
ing blood.9 

Now  we  begin  to  understand  why  he  must  not  be  a 
man  and  why  he  wants  to  be  a  woman.  His  great 
aggressive  trend  is  linked  with  the  notion  of  maleness. 
The  passive  attitude,  suffering,  patience,  is  identi- 
fied with  femaleness. 

After  these  revelations,  which  were  supported  by 
a  large  mass  of  memories,  the  patient  stayed  away 
for  a  few  days.  Then  he  reappeared  and  told  me 
that  he  had  successful  intercourse  with  a  pueUa  pub- 
lica.  He  thought  he  might  be  able  to  overcome  his 
homosexuality.  But  he  received  a  telegram  recalling 
him  to  Denmark. 

I  have  not  heard  anything  about  his  subsequent 
history.  Did  he  become  bisexual?  Did  he  overcome 
his  infantilism?  Did  the  torn  portion  of  the  road 
become  passable  at  last? 

I  am  unable  to  state  anything  definite.  But  we 
have  obtained  here  a  clear  insight  into  the  psycho- 
genesis  of  homosexuality  and  we  have  seen  that  many 
determinants  are  at  work  shaping  the  original  pre- 
disposition. 

Let  us  briefly  mention  the  most  important  data  in 
this  clinical  history.  It  must  be  looked  upon  really 

•  In  the  Tristan  phantasy  these  reminiscences  return.  The 
father  is  the  betrayed  King.  The  episode  of  the  father's 
departure  in  that  dream  becomes  clear  only  now.  He  died 
in  time  to  avoid  the  experience  of  a  second  deception  in  love. 


Dream  Interpretation  281 

as  but  a  fragment  of  an  analysis.  But  it  leads  us  to 
the  core  of  the  neurosis  and  shows  us  the  subject's 
inner  predisposition,  so  sharply  contrasting  with  his 
conscious  attitude. 

This  man  carries  within  himself  the  aboriginal  in- 
stincts of  mankind.  His  dreams  carry  him  back  to 
the  paternal  body  and  back  to  the  prehistoric  phase 
of  his  existence  not  without  reason.  He  carries  within 
himself  the  engrams  of  thousands  of  years,  the  rem- 
nants of  the  wildest  instinct  of  primordial  man.  The 
phylogenesis  of  his  being  corresponds  with  his  onto- 
genesis. What  does  he  lack  for  a  typical  primordial 
being?  In  his  dreams  and  phantasies  he  shows  the 
terrible  blood  lust,  the  imperativeness  of  wishes,  the 
brutal  egoism  of  the  periods  of  long  past.  Even 
man's  primordial  toleration  of  filth  is  not  absent; 
this  subject's  history  discloses  urolagnistic  and  co- 
prophagic  tendencies. 

Consider  the  contrast  between  his  instinctive  and 
his  cultural  self.  He  is  a  man  of  refinement  and  a 
marked  personality,  a  genuine  artist,  a  man  who  ap- 
preciates the  beautiful,  a  man  who  is  transfixed  be- 
fore a  representation  of  Tristan,  or  before  a  statue 
and  whom  the  beauties  of  nature  plunge  into  ecstasy ; 
a  man  who  seems  capable  of  adding  some  day  to  the 
world's  art  possessions  a  worthy  contribution. 

This  case  proves  most  decidedly  that  my  view  that 
homosexuality  represents  a  regression  is  correct. 


282  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Other  physicians  will  prefer  to  speak  of  degenera- 
tion. Indeed, — but  this  subject  has  no  sign  of  physi- 
cal degeneration,  there  is  no  pathologic  family  his- 
tory such  as  might  be  regarded  as  predisposing  to 
degeneration.  One  might  as  well  consider  all  artists 
degenerates  inasmuch  as  all  artists  show  the  primor- 
dial cravings  which  we  find  in  our  patients.  The  very 
fact  that  all  human  progress  is  brought  about 
through  individuals  who  represent  regressions 
should  teach  us  more  carefully  the  term  degenera- 
tion and  to  apply  it  only  to  the  cases  in  which  the 
conjunction  of  physical  signs  of  degeneration  with 
moral  inferiority  leaves  no  doubt. 

We  trace  here  the  operation  of  that  primordial 
hatred  which  threatens  to  smother  the  mind's  safety 
valve  as  it  presses  for  expression.  A  portion  of  this 
hatred  may  turn  into  love  and  lead  the  subject  into 
the  pathway  which  makes  prophets,  religious  reform- 
ers, philanthropists  or  champions  of  the  people.  An- 
other part  of  it  persists  and  strengthens  infantile 
trends. 

What  is  Sigma'g  conscious  attitude?  Love  for 
men,  indifference  towards  women,  hatred  of  the  fa- 
ther, a  bipolar  vacillation  towards  his  mother, — love 
and  hate ! 10  But  unconsciously  he  loves  his  father 
and  hates  all  women, — perhaps  because  he  must 
love  them.  His  ordinary  attitude  requires  the  pro- 

10<7p.  my  laws  of  symbolic  equivalents  in  Language  of 
Dreams:  All  secretions  and  excreta  are  equal  to  one  another 
as  symbols. 


Homosexuality  a  Regression  283 

jection  of  his  love  feeling  in  its  bipolar  form  upon 
all  the  objectives  of  his  affection.  One  loves  and 
hates  at  the  same  time.  But  he  hates  only  the 
women.  How  has  this  primordial  hatred  been  at- 
tained by  the  subject?  Why  is  he  incapable  of  as- 
suming the  usual  bipolar  attitude  towards  women? 

If  we  go  far  back  into  his  childhood  we  find  that 
he  was  in  love  with  his  father  and  jealous  of  his 
mother.  At  that  time  all  women  were  possible  rivals 
in  love  for  the  father.  He  himself  wanted  to  be  a 
woman,  the  woman  to  love  his  father.  This  father 
Imago  he  seeks  to  this  day  in  all  his  teachers,  older 
friends,  in  his  superiors.  He  must  necessarily  stand 
in  a  homosexual  relationship  towards  them  so  long 
as  he  is  unable  to  overcome  his  infantile  constella- 
tions. Everything  peculiar  about  his  attachment  to 
the  mother  is  traceable  back  to  his  identification  with 
the  father.  From  the  latter  he  has  derived  his  quiet, 
timid,  patient  temperament, — that  attitude  of  pas- 
sivity which  really  masks  a  tremendous  aggressivity. 
That  infantile  attitude  determines  the  survival  of  all 
infantile  excitations  in  his  vita  sexualis. 

How  may  the  cure  be  effected?  The  subject  must 
be  made  to  understand  that  he  will  never  really  carry 
out  the  crimes  which  contact  with  women  suggest 
to  his  unconscious.  He  must  learn  to  apply  love  in 
its  bipolar  form  alike  to  men  and  women.  His  pleth- 
ora of  cravings  should  enable  him  to  awaken  within 
himself  the  hitherto  badly  neglected  love  for  woman. 


284  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

Before  the  analysis  all  his  erotic  trends  were  di- 
rected towards  male  friends.  The  cure  leads  through 
approach  of  woman  as  friend.  First  she  is  a  friend, 
and  subsequently — after  much  struggle  and  search- 
ing— the  beloved.  He  must  learn  to  play  the  role 
of  father  to  some  strange  woman. 

Is  analysis  the  proper  means?  Who,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge,  knows  another? 
What  can  we  accomplish  through  commands,  punish- 
ment, formal  training,  or  hypnosis  ?  Primordial  love 
achieves  supremacy  only  through  the  exacting  proc- 
ess of  self-knowledge  and  through  the  recognition  of 
the  primordial  instincts,  including  the  primordial 
hatred.  The  subject  has  concentrated  his  primordial 
love  feeling  wholly  upon  his  own  person. 

Like  all  homosexuals  he  loves  only  himself.  This 
peculiarity,  too,  he  shares  with  all  primordial  be- 
ings. Does  primordial  man  know  any  other  love  than 
love  of  self?  " 

I  have  already  pointed  out  that  urnings  always 
seek  themselves  first  and  assume  subsequently  the  role 
of  another  person ;  or  else  they  seek  in  the  male  dif- 
ferent variants  of  their  own  childhood.  The  same  is 
true  pan  passu  also  of  the  urUnds.  To  be  in  love  al- 

11  Raffalovich,  author  of  a  small  monograph  on  Die  Ent- 
wickelung  der  Homosexualitat  (The  Development  of  H.),  Ber- 
lin, 1895,  states  in  a  few  pages  more  truths  than  many  authors 
disclose  in  heavy  volumes  of  writing.  He  states,  for  instance, 
that  "there  are  no  distinct  barriers  between  heterosexuals  and 
homosexuals."  He  also  emphasizes  the  strong  self-love  of 
homosexuals:  "They  have  die  Leidentchaft  der  JShnlichkeit." 


Homosexuality  a  Regression  285 

ways  means  to  find  one's  self  in  another.  But  why 
do  urnings  not  find  themselves  in  the  female  Imago? 
This  question  cannot  be  covered  with  a  generaliza- 
tion that  will  hold  good  for  all  cases.  In  the  two 
last  cases  the  fact  that  the  subjects  regarded  them- 
selves as  the  reverse  of  handsome  played  an  impor- 
tant role.  They  had  a  sense  of  inferiority  with  re- 
gard to  woman  and  a  feeling  of  envy.  Self-love  in- 
duced fear  of  defeat  by  woman  on  account  of  lack 
of  attractiveness.  How  could  they  feel  confident  of 
conquering  woman  in  view  of  their  ugliness?  How 
could  they  play  the  role  of  a  Don  Juan  to  which  their 
latent  homosexuality  might  otherwise  have  driven 
them?  Among  men  physical  beauty  does  not  matter. 
What  is  important  is  the  size  of  the  genitalia. 

If  love  capacity  be  measured  by  the  size  of  one's 
genitalia,  the  patient  Delta  (Case  83)  could  measure 
himself  against  any  one.  He  took  ridiculous  pride 
in  his  great  penis, — a  pride  shown  by  many  men. 
His  whole  sexuality  was  centered  upon  the  symbol  of 
masculinity.  With  Sigma,  with  whom  the  penis 
played  but  a  secondary  role,  the  case  was  different. 
Sadger  who  sees  in  narcissism  the  love  of  one's  geni- 
talia would  find  his  view  corroborated  by  the  history 
of  the  first  case  but  not  by  the  second,  the  subject 
in  the  latter  instance  showing  not  the  least  interest 
in  his  penis. 

The  first  of  these  cases  portrays  the  mechanisms 
described  by  Adler,  the  second  barely  a  trace.  This 


286  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

shows  how  easy  it  is  to  build  certain  assumptions 
through  a  one-sided  selection  of  cases.  It  is  obvious 
that  every  earnest  investigator  must  come  upon  cer- 
tain aspects  of  the  truth.  What  we  obtain  always 
are  mere  sectional  views  of  homosexuality.  A  cross 
section  yields  merely  a  corresponding  view  of  the  pic- 
ture. Only  the  apposition  of  the  various  sectional 
views  can  furnish  us  the  proper  perspective  for  re- 
constructing the  whole  picture  of  homosexuality. 

Infantile  reminiscences  in  both  cases  were  partial 
determinants  which  lead  to  a  lasting  fear  of  women 
and  to  withdrawal  from  heterosexual  love.  Delta  had 
witnessed  an  unhappy  marriage  as  a  child,  Sigma 
heard  a  great  deal  about  faithlessness  and  about 
woman's  lack  of  loyalty.  Both  shared  also  a  strong 
sadism,  a  feature  which  we  have  observed  in  all  cases 
of  homosexuality  thus  far  analyzed. 

We  are  thus  led  to  a  synthetic  formulation  of 
male  homosexuality  which,  in  reversed  terms,  holds 
true  also  of  women: 

The  homosexual  neurosis  is  a  flight  back  to  one's 
own  sex  induced  by  a  sadistic  predisposition  towards 
the  opposite  sex. 


vn 


THE  NEUROTIC  S  INABILITY  TO  LOVE THE  NARCISSISM 

OF  THE  HOMOSEXUAL PROGRESSIVE  SEXUAL  DIF- 
FERENTIATION   WITH    THE    GROWTH    OF    CULTURE 

THE     POSITION  OF     THE     HOMOSEXUAL    IN    THE 

STRUGGLE    BETWEEN    SEXES THE    SOCIAL    CAUSES 

OF     HOMOSEXUALITY HOMOSEXUALITY     AMONG 

GREEKS INCREASE  OF  POLAR  SEXUAL  TENSION — 

VARIOUS      THERAPEUTIC      MEASURES HYPNOSIS 

MOLL'S    ASSOCIATION    THERAPY PSYCHOANALYSIS 

THE  PATH  TOWARDS  CURE  AND  THE  CONDITIONS 

FOR  RECOVERY. 


Im  Hass  1st  Furcht,  ein  grosser,  guter  Tett 
Furcht.  Wir  Furchtlosen  aber,  wir  geistigeren  Men- 
schen  dieses  Zeitalters,  wir  kennen  unseren  Vorteil 
gut  genug,  um  gerade  als  die  Geistigeren  in  Hinsicht 
auf  dieser  Zeit  ohne  Furcht  zu  Leben.  Man  wird  uns 
schwerlich  Icopfen,  einsperren,  verbrennen;  man  wird 
nicht  einmal  unsere  Biicher  verbieten  und  verbrennen. 
Man  ist  seines  F 'aches  um  den  Preis,  auch  das  Opfer 
seines  Faches  zu  seint  — Nietzsche. 


VII 


Hatred  means  fear,  it  contains  a  great,  big  part  of 
fear.  But  we  the  Fearless  ones,  we  the  more  intel- 
lectual men  of  our  age,  precisely  as  the  more  eman- 
cipated ones,  with  reference  to  our  age,  are  well 
aware  of  our  advantage  of  living  without  fear.  We 
shall  be  bitterly  pursued,  jailed,  burned  at  the  stake; 
our  books  will  more  than  once  fall  under  the  ban  and 
be  burned.  One  is  a  man  after  one's  own  kind  only 
at  the  risk  of  paying  the  price  demanded  of  one's 
kind.  — Nietzsche. 

We  have  seen  with  what  powerful  hatred  the  homo- 
sexual encounters  his  environment.  Whether  he 
turns  his  hatred  towards  the  other  sex,  his  own,  or, 
under  certain  circumstances,  against  himself,  he  re- 
mains the  inveterate  hater  vainly  trying  to  reconcile 
the  feeling  of  man's  aboriginal  nature  with  the 
ethical  requirements  of  later  culture.  The  question 
rises  whether  he  is  at  all  capable  of  loving.  One  may 
point  out  that  in  a  certain  sense  he  does  love  his 
mother,  father,  some  friend  or  that  perhaps  he  even 
has  a  "sweetheart."  But  it  only  seems  that  he  loves 
them !  The  truth  is  that  he  is  unable  to  love.  That 

289 


290  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

peculiarity  he  shares  with  all  artists  who,  in  fact, 
are  also  incapable  of  loving.  I  repeat  myself  and 
reproduce  below  my  statements  on  this  point  as  in- 
corporated in  my  work  "Die  Trdume  der  Dichter."  * 

All  my  inquiries  into  the  psychogenesis  of  these 
disorders  have  led  me  back  to  the  manifestations 
of  hatred.  Already  in  my  work,  Die  Sprache  Des 
Traumes  (the  Language  of  Dreams),  I  have  pointed 
out  that  antagonism  (or  hatred)  is  man's  primary 
feeling  responsible  for  the  development  of  neuroses 
in  those  ethical-minded  persons  who  still  preserve 
strongly  their  aboriginal  instinctive  cravings.  "The 
neurosis  is  the  endopsychic  perception  of  hatred  m 
terms  of  a  guilty  conscience"  {The  Language  of 
Dreams,  page  563  of  the  1st  German  edition;  Eng- 
lish version  of  the  latter  edition  is  now  in  prepara- 
tion by  the  translator  of  the  present  volume.) 

I  believe  I  have  proven  successfully  that  the 
homosexual  is  a  neurotic,  that  he  represents  a  type 
of  regression  to  man's  primordial  instincts ;  and  that 
homosexuality  is  a  sort  of  compromise  healing  proc- 
ess in  the  mental  conflict  between  the  abnormal,  raw 

1  Page  248,  of  the  German  edition.  "The  neurotic's  attach- 
ment to  the  family  is  an  overcorrection  of  former  lack  of  love 
and  is  induced  by  a  feeling  of  remorse."  "Poets  formulate  a 
longing  for  love  because  of  their  inability  to  love  and  that 
drives  them  to  their  continuous  chase  after  love  adventure. 
Love  becomes  the  overstressed  idea  and  the  unattainable  ideal 
of  poets."  "The  poet  differs  from  the  criminal  because  he 
is  aware  of  his  incapacity  to  love  as  a  handicap,  and  from 
hatred  and  scorn  of  humanity  he  turns  to  love  his  fellow 
men." 


Nature  of  Love  291 

cravings,  and  the  cultural  need  for  their  suppres- 
sion. 

But  we  must  not  think  that,  like  the  average  neu- 
rotic, the  homosexual  is  incapable  of  love.  Only,  all 
his  love  is  a  love  centered  exclusively  on  self.  Yet 
all  cultural  progress  consists  of  the  sublimation  of 
self-love  into  social  love.  That  is  the  meaning  of  the 
majestic  injunction:  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself! 

Since  the  homosexual  loves  only  himself  he  seeks 
only  himself  in  others.  That,  however,  is  a  feature 
of  all  love.  What  appears  to  be  the  most  extreme 
manifestation  of  altruistic  feeling  is  at  bottom  but 
the  outcome  of  egoistic  cravings.  Love  is  but  ego- 
ism potentialized.  Every  neurotic  suffers  of  nar- 
cissism. He  is  a  slave  to  self  and  cannot  escape  that 
bondage.  The  homosexual  loves,  or  appears  to  love, 
his  own  sex,  but  even  superficial  examination  shows 
this  to  be  but  part  of  his  narcissism.  In  truth  he 
loves  neither  man  nor  woman.  He  has  to  overcome 
a  hatred  stronger  than  the  corresponding  feeling  in 
the  normal.  That  hatred  is  the  theme  of  his  child- 
hood. As  perpetual  infant,  he  fails  to  sublimate  suf- 
ficiently that  hatred,  or  to  fix  it  upon  objectives  con- 
sidered proper  in  our  current  cultural  development. 

All  who  investigate  homesexuality  find  an  early 
awakening  of  the  sexual  instinct.  It  is  perhaps  the 
greatest  social  function  of  sexual  instinct,  next  to 
reproduction,  to  provide  for  the  conquest  of  hatred. 
Though  the  selfish  child  becomes  a  loving  person,  the 


292  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

child's  love  is  still  entirely  self-centered.  The  child 
loves  the  persons  who  serve  it.  In  vain  one  tries  to 
point  out  that  it  ought  to  love  also  the  teachers 
who  are  severe  but  mean  well,  that  parents  must 
punish  in  order  to  teach!  This  view  belongs  to  the 
adult  mind  and  is  what  enables  the  adult  to  forget 
the  childish  notions  of  revenge  which  he  entertained 
as  a  child  whenever  he  suffered  punishment  which  he 
looked  upon  as  unjust  before  his  higher  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility had  asserted  itself.  But  in  the  neurotics, 
including  homosexuals,  sexual  precocity  brings  early 
to  surface  cravings  which  involve  the  love  of  others ; 
they  are  therefore  inclined  to  renounce  or  modify 
their  hatred.  The  proportionate  share  of  hatred 
against  some  beloved  person  is  withdrawn  and  turned 
against  the  others.  These  infantile  feeling-attitudes 
may  undergo  a  second  transformation  in  later  years. 
A  boy  may  love  the  father  and  hate  the  mother,  be- 
cause she  is  his  rival  in  the  father's  affection.  At 
the  same  time  the  sisters  may  be  hated  because  they 
draw  to  themselves  a  certain  quantum  of  the  father's 
love,  which  the  self-centered  jealous  boy  wishes  to 
secure  exclusively  for  himself.  Later  the  mother 
and  sisters  are  loved,  and  the  father  recedes  to  the 
background. 

Jealousy  is  an  infantile  feeling.  Its  appearance  in 
later  years  always  signifies  a  regression  to  infantile 
attitudes.  The  homosexual  spreads  his  hatred  from 
one  persons  to  the  whole  sex  under  the  form  of  jeal- 


Nature  of  Jealousy  293 

ousy.  Let  us  assume  that  he  loves  the  father  inso- 
far as  he  is  at  all  capable  of  loving.  The  mother  is 
looked  upon  as  a  rival.  With  the  formulation  of 
that  attitude,  all  other  women  become  likewise  poten- 
tial rivals,  capable  of  robbing  him  of  his  father's 
affection.  Therefore  he  hates  all  women, — the  sub- 
ject is  on  the  road  to  homosexual  neurosis.  At  the 
onset  of  homosexuality  stands  jealousy  and  the  lat- 
ter, therefore,  preserves  its  infantile  value  through- 
out life. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  it  is  the  function 
of  sexuality  to  conquer  hatred.  But  that  task  is 
never  completely  carried  out.  An  eternal  rivalry  per- 
sists between  the  two  sexes  giving  rise  to  the  so-called 
"struggle  between  the  sexes.'*  I  have  no  doubt  that 
man's  capacity  for  loving  has  increased  in  the  course 
of  our  racial  evolution.  What  subtle  refinements  our 
erotism  has  undergone!  How  complicated  the 
psychic  processes  displayed  by  the  man  and  the 
woman  in  love !  But  the  antagonism  or  hatred  which 
divides  the  two  sexes  has  grown  apace.  Modern  love 
owes  its  profuse  aifectivity  to  this  conquest  of  hatred, 
this  periodic  regression  back  to  the  feeling-attitude 
of  hatred  and  its  renewed  subdual. 

The  question  arises :  Have  we  in  fact  any  proof 
that  the  polar  tension  between  man  and  woman  has 
diminished?  He  who  fails  to  see  a  proof  of  this  in 
the  improvement  of  woman's  social  position  and  her 
acquisition  of  equal  rights  may  turn  to  biologic  facts. 


294  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

These  biologic  data  prove  that  the  sexual  differen- 
tiation between  man  and  woman  has  increased  with 
growth  of  culture.  In  primitive  times  woman  was 
not  so  womanly,  the  man  less  manly,  than  the  man 
and  woman  of  civilization.  Fehlinger  ~  compares 
the  primitive  peoples  with  the  Europeans  and  shows 
that  the  secondary  sexual  characters  are  much  more 
pronounced  among  the  civilized  peoples  than  among 
the  savages.  Subtler  stimuli  are  required  to  excite 
the  domesticated  sexual  instinct. 

That  sexual  differentiation  is  more  pronounced 
among  Europeans  is  shown  also  by  the  fact  that  the 
period  from  the  onset  of  sexual  adolescence  to  the  at- 
tainment of  complete  physical  growth  is  more  pro- 
longed among  civilized  peoples  than  among  the  col- 
ored races.  The  primitive  races  show  a  great  simi- 
larity between  male  and  female  types  and  that  is 
most  pronounced  among  the  various  pygmean  races. 
The  latter  are  characterized  bv  an  infantile  physique, 
which,  as  is  well  known,  is  sexually  but  little  differ- 
entiated. 

Since  the  homosexual  represents  retrogressively  a 
stage  of  racial  development  during  which  the  bisexual 
character  of  the  organism  was  more  pronounced,  he 
carries  a  b  o  v  o  the  inclmation  to  project  himself 
unto  both  sexes.  He  passes  into  the  world  of  sexual 
differentiation  as  into  some  strange,  inimical,  and,  to 

*  Domestikation    und    die    secundaren    Qeschlechtsmerkmale. 
Zeitschrift  f.  Sexualwissenschaft,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  6-7,  1916. 


Nature  of  Hatred  295 

his  mind,  incomprehensible  realm  of  existence.  He 
belongs  to  the  primordial  period  in  which  a  man,  if 
necessary,  could  have  replaced  the  woman.  His  en- 
grams  perceive  the  homosexual  feeling  as  something 
as  natural  as  if  he  had  come  a  few  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  years  sooner  into  the  world.  But  into  the 
cultural  age  in  which  love  plays  such  a  tremendous 
role  he  brings  with  him  also  the  antagonism  of  by- 
gone ages.  That  feeling  of  hatred  becomes  a  power- 
ful lever  in  the  struggle  between  the  sexes.  Physi- 
cally he  stands  between  man  and  woman  but  he  is  not 
suited  for  the  role  of  mediator  because  he  has  not 
learned  to  subdue  the  eternal  struggle  between  male 
and  female  within  his  breast.  The  love-attitude 
which  is  a  mixture  of  love  and  hatred,  he  splits  into 
its  two  components  directing  one  separately  towards 
each  of  the  two  sexes.  Towards  woman  he  turns  his 
primordial  hatred,  while  man  he  loves  as  a  represen- 
tative of  culture.  When  he  is  grown  up  that  deadly 
hatred  is  repressed  and  stands  a  hidden  stumbling- 
block  between  himself  and  woman.  Unable  to  be  a 
complete  man,  unable  to  extricate  himself  from  that 
infantile  feeling-attitude,  he  also  hates  the  woman  in 
him.  He  overvalues  manliness  and  in  his  excessive 
appraisal  of  it  turns  to  it  with  his  whole  love.  The 
hatred  of  all  women  corresponds  to  his  scorn  of  the 
woman  in  himself, — a  reaction  due  to  his  personal 
inability  to  overcome  the  woman  in  his  own  make-up 
and  to  become  a  complete  man.  Finally  in  the  course 


296  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

of  the  continuous  struggle  between  the  man  and  the 
woman  within  his  breast  he  reaches  the  curious  com- 
promise of  accepting  the  feeling  that  he  is  a  woman. 
That  is:  he  excepts  a  single  woman  from  his  hatred 
.  .  .  himself.  In  that  manner  he  becomes  a  trans- 
vestite.  He  may  be  active  heterosexually,  he  may, 
apparently,  have  overcome  his  homosexuality,  yet,  as 
penance  for  his  hatred,  he  puts  on  the  clothes  which 
had  seemed  once  so  hateful  to  him.  The  latent  homo- 
sexual becomes  a  transvestite  only  on  account  of  Ms 
guilty  conscience. 

Our  investigations  have  proven  that  homosexu- 
ality has  no  uniform  psychogenesis.  But  all  cases 
showed  an  archaic  emphasis  on  bisexuality.  Al- 
though I  speak  of  regressive  manifestations  I  should 
not  care  to  see  that  conception  confused  with  the 
notion  of  "hereditary  taint"  or  of  "degeneration." 
For  my  investigations  of  artists  have  convinced  me 
that  they  present  the  same  tendencies  as  the  homo- 
sexuals. They,  too,  are  neurotics.  In  fact,  the 
number  of  homosexual  artists,  even  of  homosexual 
persons  of  rare  genius,  as  given  by  Hirschfeld,  is 
impressive.  I  hold  the  view  that  every  great  creative 
work  has  been  and  is  being  achieved  through  these 
regressions.  It  is  as  if  nature  attempted  to  rejuven- 
ate herself  and  once  more  to  absorb  creative  energy 
by  dipping  down  into  the  primordial  source  of  all 
energy.  It  might  be  more  proper,  perhaps,  to  speak 
of  them  as  degeneres  superieurs,  in  the  sense  of  Mag- 


Sexual  Differentiation  297 

nan.  It  seems  to  me  that  true  degeneration,  as  seen 
in  the  stigmata  of  physical  decay,  and  which  mani- 
fests itself  in  an  insufficient  adjustment  to  the  ethi- 
cal requirements  of  society,  represents  rather  the  ter- 
,minal  point  of  an  exhausted  stem,  gravitating  down- 
wards, while  the  neurotic  represents  a  progression. 
Degeneration  and  regressions  certainly  have  a  great 
deal  in  common.  But  similar  causes  often  bring  on 
varying  results.  I  need  refer  only  to  the  well-known 
laws  of  inbreeding,  for  instance.  The  summation  of 
good  qualities  through  the  intermarriage  of  relatives 
may  lead  to  the  birth  of  a  true  genius,  but  the  same 
step  causes  more  or  less  degeneration  by  reinforcing 
morbid  tendencies. 

I  see  in  such  an  atavistic  tendency  the  predispo- 
sition to  homosexuality,  common  to  all  neurotics. 
Perhaps  organic  changes,  such  as  I  have  found  in 
more  or  less  pronounced  form  in  most  homosexuals 
also  play  a  certain  role.  Persons  of  pronounced  bi- 
sexual type  do  not  necessarily  become  homosexual, 
but  this  does  not  disprove  that  the  organic  condi- 
tion may  be  a  factor.  Here  is  where  I  agree  with 
Hirschf eld's  "intermediate  sex"  theory.  But  beyond 
this  point  our  standpoints  diverge.  The  organic 
factors  remain  yet  to  be  investigated.  We  are  but 
at  the  beginning  of  our  studies  of  organic  bisexu- 
ality.  The  ascertainment  of  unilateral  hermaphro- 
ditism,  it  seems  to  me,  will  play  a  particularly  impor- 
tant role  in  future  investigations.  Already  the  data 


298  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

obtained  through  the  examination  of  large  groups 
of  persons,  for  which  the  World  War  furnished  me  an 
opportunity,  impressed  me  with  the  fact,  that  con- 
trary sexual  Arilage  is  to  be  found  particularly 
often  on  the  left  side  of  the  body.  (In  men  this  shows 
itself  in  the  form  of  unilateral  gynecomasty,  scant 
hair  growth,  asymmetry  of  the  face,  the  left  side 
being  more  pronouncedly  of  feminine  type.)  The 
finding  of  infantile  features  must  also  be  considered 
of  significance  in  the  diagnosis  of  an  organic  predis- 
position to  homosexuality. 

These  interesting  facts  do  not  relieve  us  of  the 
need  of  establishing  the  psychogenesis  of  homosexu- 
ality on  a  sound  basis.  But  the  multitude  of  condi- 
tions which  may  lead  to  homosexuality  admit  no 
hard-and-fast  line.  Every  case  is  a  problem  of  its 
own;  these  are  the  very  cases  where  we  must  care- 
fully individualize  and  guard  ourselves  against  hin- 
dering future  research  by  laying  down  any  hard-and- 
fast  rules. 

A  question  which  no  investigator  of  sexual  prob- 
lems has  thus  far  satisfactorily  answered,  now  sug- 
gests itself:  Why  is  it  that  homosexuality  and  par- 
ticularly male  homosexuality  has  become  the  object 
of  such  terrific  social  abhorrence?  Why  is  our 
penal  code  so  backward  in  that  respect? 

We  can  understand  the  reasons  for  that  only  in 
the  light  of  the  historic  aspect  of  the  problem.  It 
is  a  striking  fact  that  although  female  homosexu- 


Historic  Attitude  299 

ality  always  appears  along  with  the  male,  it  is  not 
nearly  so  abhorred  but  is  rather  tolerated  under  the 
cover  of  silence.  Austria  is  the  only  European 
country  in  which  sexual  intimacy  between  women  is 
a  penal  offence.  Probably  the  difference  in  this  at- 
titude bears  some  relation  to  the  problem  of  repro- 
duction, since  man,  as  the  fertilizing  agent,  plays 
a  more  active  role  than  the  woman.3  The  seed, 
that  most  precious  possession  with  which  a  man 
may  fructify  several  women,  must  not  be  squan- 
dered. 

The  decided  struggle  against  homosexuality  be- 
gan energetically  with  Judaism.  Monosexualism  de- 
veloped with  monotheism.  The  Bible  hardly  refers  to 
homosexuality.  The  blessings  of  children,  of  repro- 
duction, the  advantage  of  numbers  were  the  needs 
to  which  the  sexual  cravings  had  to  be  subordinated. 
There  is,  therefore,  justification  for  the  contention 
that  Judaism  has  fought  against  homosexuality, — 
impelled  by  social  motives.  On  the  other  hand  it 
was  also  an  account  of  another  set  of  social  mo- 
tives that,  in  Greece,  homosexuality  was  not  only 
tolerated  but  permitted  and  even  expressly  intro- 
duced. Aristotle  is  of  the  opinion  that  in  accor- 
dance with  their  customs  and  beliefs  the  Dorians  ex- 
pressly intended  to  limit  the  increase  in  population 
through  the  encouragement  of  boy  love  and  the  sep- 

*An  excellent  account  of  the  history  of  homosexuality  may 
be  found  in  the  work  of  Hirschfeld  (loc.  clt.). 


300  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

aration  of  women  from  society.4  But  that  in  itself 
would  not  explain  the  high  regard  in  which  homo- 
sexuality was  held  in  ancient  Greece. 

I  refer  those  interested  in  the  subject  to  the  in- 
teresting work  of  a  philologist,  Prof.  E.  Bethel 

4  Politics,  II.  Quoted  after  Havelock  Ellis  and  I.  A. 
Symonds,  Das  kontrdre  Oeschlechtsgefiihl,  Leipzig,  George  E. 
Wiegands  Verlag,  1896. 

8 Die  dorische  Knabenliebe  (Ihre  Ethik  und  ihre  Idee), 
Rheinisches  Museum  f.  Philologie  (Neue  Folge),  vol.  62,  1907. 

The  authors  prove  that  boy  love  in  Hellas  was  introduced  by 
the  Dorians.  Although  traces  of  the  custom  are  found  also 
among  the  lonians,  boy  love,  like  knighthood,  became  fash- 
ionable in  Greece  through  the  Dorians.  "It  was  permitted 
only  to  the  free  citizen,  the  knight,  while  slaves  were  for- 
bidden to  indulge  in  the  practice  often  under  penalty  of 
death.  The  practice  was  regulated  by  strict  rules  and  became 
a  state  institution.  In  Sparta,  Crete,  Thebes  the  training  for 
(arety)  ipffffj,  among  the  dominant  class  was  based  on 
pederasty.  The  lovers  in  Sparta  were  held  to  a  strict  account- 
ability for  their  'companions'  who  became  attached  to  them 
from  their  12th  year;  so  that  they  and  not  their  youthful  com- 
panions were  punished  for  any  shameful  act  on  the  part  of 
the  latter."  "The  battlefield  at  Chaironeia  was  covered  with 
the  lovers  .  .  .  lying  in  pairs."  In  Crete  the  choice  of  boy 
lovers  assumed  the  form  of  bridal  theft.  The  lover  advised 
the  boy's  family  of  his  intention  of  stealing  the  boy.  If  the 
family  did  not  like  the  "match"  it  tried  to  avoid  the  capture 
of  the  boy.  The  higher  the  lover's  social  position  the  greater 
was  the  honor  felt  by  the  boy  and  his  family.  The  chosen 
one  was  afterwards  sent  home  carrying  gifts.  .  .  . 

In  fact,  at  Thebes,  Thera  and  in  Crete  such  unions  even 
enjoyed  religious  sanction.  "The  engagement  of  the  lovers  or 
rather  their  physical  union  certainly  occurred  under  the  pro- 
tection of  some  god  or  hero  at  Thera  and  at  Thebes.  At 
Thebes  we  find  the  language  unmistakably  clear  in  the  high 
archaic  field  inscriptions  of  the  Seventh  Century,  chiselled 
in  large  letters  upon  the  holy  promontory  near  the  City,  at  a 
distance  of  50-70  meters  from  the  temple  of  Apollo  Karneies 
and  on  the  holy  site  dedicated  to  Zeus.  They  read  as  follows: 
"On  this  holy  place,  under  protection  of  Zeus,  Krion  has  con- 
summated his  union  with  the  son  of  Bathykles  and  proclaim- 
ing it  proudly  to  the  world  dedicates  to  it  this  imperishable 


Attitude  of  the  Church  301 

Like  many  other  philosophers  and  investigators  of 
history,  Eeihe  falls  into  the  error  of  pointing  to  the 
Christian  church  as  the  agent  responsible  for  the 
newer  orientation  in  sexual  matters.  In  the  first 
place  these  writers  overlook  the  fact  that  the  new 
attitude  had  set  in  already  with  Judaism.  Secondly, 
they  fail  to  see  that  religions  are,  themselves,  but 
the  result  of  social  conditions.  Religious  teachings 
always  adjust  themselves  to  the  social  needs  of  their 
day  and  even  fulfill  them.  Religious  formulae  prove 
meaningless  only  to  the  progressive,  emancipated, 

memorial.  And  many  Thereans  with  him,  and  after  him,  have 
united  themselves  with  their  boys  on  this  same  holy  spot." 

At  Crete  it  was  considered  a  shame  for  a  boy  to  possess  no 
knightly  lover.  On  the  other  hand  it  was  a  great  honor  for 
a  boy  to  be  wanted  by  many  lovers. 

For  the  lovers  and  for  the  boys  these  relations  had  an  excel- 
lent effect.  Each  was  inspired  to  do  his  best  in  order  to 
prove  his  mettle  and  be  &yados  avfip  (agathos  anyr).  The 
heroic  tales  even  took  note  of  this  love.  The  wondrous  deeds 
of  a  Herakles  were  carried  out  in  honor  of  the  male  lover 
Eurystheus.  Repelling  a  wooing  knight  was  considered 
ignominious, — a  blot  on  one's  honor.  Plutarch  relates  the 
story  how  Aristodamus  struck  down  with  his  sword  an  obsti- 
nate boy:  "Man  gerat  unwilkurlich  in  die  Sprache  unseres 
ritterlichen  Ehrenkomments," — states  Betlie. 

With  that  act  the  knight  transferred  his  Aperi?  (arety), 
knighthood,  upon  the  boy.  It  had  a  symbolic  meaning.  Among 
the  Spartans  the  paederast  was  called  efoirj^Xaj  (eiopnylas), 
from  f'oirvdit  (eiopnein),  meaning,  the  one  who  blows  some- 
thing in  (the  inblower).  But  what  was  it  that  the  pederast 
blew  into  the  boy?  Clearly  the  irvevna  (pneuma),  the  soul,  a 
belief  which  has  come  down  from  the  oldest  period  (Bible) 
surviving  to  this  day  in  Christianity.  According  to  primitive 
conceptions  the  soul  of  man  resided  in  his  various  secreta  and 
excreta.  Urine,  faeces,  blood  and  semen  were  magical  sub- 
stances inasmuch  as  they  contained  the  life  principle.  With 
his  male  seed  the  Dorian  endowed  his  boy  with  knightly 
prowess.  (Similarly  the  savages  in  New  Guinea  drink  the 


302  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

free  and  forward-striving  persons,  the  imperatives 
of  religion  are  superfluous  only  for  those  above  the 
average.  The  crowds  must  cling  to  religious  for- 
mulae and  will  always  need  sexual  inhibitions  of  a 
religious  character. 

Sexuality  is  changing  all  the  time,  it  undergoes 
progressive  refinement.  No  careful  observer  can  deny 
that  fact.  More  and  more  of  our  instinctive  crav- 
ings are  gradually  throttled.  But  when  the  process 
of  repression  becomes  too  severe  there  are  regres- 
sions such  as  we  have  witnessed  in  the  agitation  for 
free  love  of  the  last  decades  and  in  the  current  more 

urine  of  the  chieftain  in  order  to  acquire  his  skill  and 
strength.  Bethe  mentions  numerous  similar  instances.)  The 
semen  was  regarded  as  the  seat  of  the  soul. 

Bethe  points  out  also  that  the  liver,  the  heart  and  more 
particularly  the  phallus  were  similarly  identified  with  the  soul. 
The  reader  is  referred  to  the  original  study  for  further  details. 

The  remarkable  notion  of  blowing  one's  soul  into  another 
a  posteriori,  is  traced  by  the  author  to  primitive  beliefs. 
Animals  showed  no  objection  to  these  love-offerings;  and  men 
who  ascribed  magical  properties  to  urine  and  faeces  undoubt- 
edly lacked  any  feeling  of  revulsion  against  these  excreta.  .  .  . 
Since  the  anus  was  looked  upon  as  the  portal  for  angry 
demons,  why  should  not  the  benevolent  magical  power  of 
heroes  be  introduced  the  same  way? 

"The  notion  which  led  to  the  development  of  paederasty  as  a 
State  Institution  among  the  Dorians,  could  not  long  endure. 
It  had  to  give  way  finally.  .  .  .  But  boy  love  persisted  as  a 
widespread  custom  and  stood  throughout  antiquity  and 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  Greek  culture  as  a  necessary 
feature  of  decent  superior  Greek  citizenship.  The  Christian 
church  fought  the  heathen  custom  from  the  beginning  and 
was  the  first  to  drive  paederasty  from  Christian  society;  un- 
able to  root  it  out  by  spiritual  means,  it  adopted  criminal  pun- 
ishment in  the  year  342." 

That  is,  briefly,  the  philologist's  account,  who  also  states 
that  during  the  pre-Doric  period  (Homer,  for  instance)  the 
custom  of  boy  love  had  as  yet  no  roots  as  an  Institution. 


Growth  of  Polar  Tension  303 

frank  discussion  of  sexual  matters.  But  if  all  signs 
do  not  fail  the  high  tide  of  the  agitation  for  sexual 
freedom  has  passed  and  the  wave  of  that  agitation 
is  receding.  Pioneers  in  the  movement  for  sexual 
freedom  are  beginning  to  uphold  monogamy;  and 
the  problem  of  population  made  pressing  by  the 
World  War  does  not  favor  the  abandonment  of  the 
current  social  and  legal  proscriptions  against  homo- 
sexuality. On  the  contrary.  There  is  likely  to  be  in 
the  near  future  a  stronger  revulsion  against  homo- 
sexuality inasmuch  as  society  finds  itself  compelled  to 
revert  at  all  costs  back  to  the  Old  Testament  atti- 
tude of  fostering  reproduction. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  secondary 
sexual  characters  are  becoming  more  strongly  ac- 
centuated through  culture.  The  prehistoric  stage 
was  probably  characterized  by  an  undifferentiated 
sexual  feeling,  such  as  Max  Dessoir  ascribes  to  the 
pre-adolescent  stage.  The  polar  tension  between 
male  and  'female  has  increased!  That  explains  the 
difference  between  the  old  Greek  and  the  modern  at- 
titude towards  homosexuality.  The  Greek  was  a 
bisexual  being.  He  was  capable  of  loving  his  friend 
and  wife  and  woman  slave  alongside  the  boy.  The 
modern  homosexual,  carrying  within  him  the  bisexual 
instincts  of  the  most  archaic  developmental  stage, 
finds  himself  confronted  with  another  sex-attitude. 
He  is  confronted,  so  to  speak,  with  the  need  of  mak- 
ing a  new  choice,  and  therefore  he  seeks  always  the 


304  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

type  to  which  he  himself  belongs,  the  man  who  is  a 
woman,  or  the  woman  who  is  a  man.  Exceptions  do 
not  disprove  this  rule.  But  in  proportion  as  the 
polar  tension  between  the  sexes  increases,  the  basic 
antagonism  between  man  and  woman  also  grows.  As 
we  have  seen — the  last  case  was  particularly  instruc- 
tive in  that  regard — the  homosexual,  who  apparently 
stands  above  that  struggle,  is  inspired  from  within 
by  a  feeling-attitude  of  extreme  hatred.  He  hates 
woman  with  such  deadly  antagonism  that  the  fear 
of  his  own  passion  makes  him  avoid  woman.  His 
hatred  is  a  will  of  annihilation.  But  that  feeling 
involves  its  polar  alternative:  love  to  the  point  of 
self-annihilation,  a  willingness  to  be  utterly  hum- 
bled. Subject  No.  83  gives  us  a  history  clearly  il- 
lustrating this  interplay  of  forces. 

But  it  is  plain  that  the  number  of  homosexuals 
will  not  decrease.  On  the  contrary.  /  am  of  the 
opinion  that  under  certain  conditions  the  extreme 
polar  tension  between  man  and  woman  will  always 
drive  to  homosexuality  certain  individuals  possessing 
the  requisite  bisexual  predispostion  and  that  the 
number  of  homosexuals  will  increase.  Since  I  look 
upon  homosexuality  as  a  neurosis,  a  morbid  condi- 
tion, if  one  insists  on  the  term,  I  am  decidedly  op- 
posed to  the  policy  of  penalizing  the  homosexual, 
and  against  those  legal  proscriptions  which  have  been 
and  are  the  cause  of  much  misery.  It  is  a  striking 
fact  that  in  France  and  Italy  homosexuality  plays 


Growth  of  Polar  Tension  305 

a  lesser  role  than  in  Germany,  for  instance,  although 
in  those  countries  the  offence  is  not  so  severely  pen- 
alized. Dangers  and  prohibitory  laws  often  excite 
the  strongest  attraction  and  the  neurotic  is  the  very 
person  who  likes  to  become  a  martyr.  Homosexual 
relations  or  acts,  carried  on  under  mutual  under- 
standing and  with  the  consent  of  the  parties  thereto, 
should  not  come  under  the  province  of  penal  law,  as 
provided  in  the  Codex  Napoleonis.  The  latter  pen- 
alizes only  public  nuisances  (outrage  a  la  pudeur) 
that  is,  acts  committed  in  public  or  carried  on  in  the 
presence  of  witnesses ;  the  Code  Napoleon  penalizes 
coercion  and  protects  the  minors  and  the  feeble- 
minded. 

With  these  provisions  the  requirements  of  our  cur- 
rent ethical  standards  are  fully  met.  I  cannot  con- 
ceive the  State  compelling  the  homosexuals  to  re- 
produce. Although  I  do  not  accept  Tarnowsky's 
viewpoint  that  their  offspring  is  degenerate, — be- 
cause personal  observation  has  often  convinced  me 
of  the  contrary — I  look  upon  the  rise  of  the  homo- 
sexual neurosis  as  a  sort  of  social  instinct.  The 
homosexual  possesses  an  endopsychic  perception  of 
his  asocial  tendencies.  He  feels  himself  beyond  the 
pale  of  society  and  does  not  care  to  adjust  himself 
into  the  social  order  with  regard  to  his  sexuality. 
His  struggle  against  reproduction  is  perhaps  best 
for  society.  Considering  the  strength  of  his  sadistic 
inclinations  we  can  appreciate  that  through  his 


306  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

voluntary  sterilization  in  certain  cases  he  renders  so- 
ciety a  genuine  service. 

The  question  rises  whether  it  is  advisable  to  clear 
the  homosexual's  path  towards  woman  through 
psychoanalysis.  That  brings  up  the  chief  question 
whether  homosexuality  is  at  all  amenable  to  therapy. 

My  personal  experience  has  convinced  me  that 
here  and  there  psychoanalysis  is  successful  in  effect- 
ing a  cure.  But  only  under  certain  conditions.  The 
homosexual  must  be  genuinely  willing  to  be  cured. 
He  must  actively  desire  a  change  in  his  leaning. 

But  experience  shows  also  that  this  will  to  health 
is  found  only  in  the  lighter  forms  of  homosexuality 
in  which  latent  sadism  does  not  dominate  the  condi- 
tion.6 That  in  a  certain  sense  the  homosexual  of  this 
type  is  curable  I  am  in  a  position  to  affirm  on  the 
basis  of  my  personal  experience.  The  cure  proceeds 
spontaneously  but  it  may  be  hastened  through  psy- 
chotherapeutic  endeavor. 

The  proper  psychotherapeutic  method  can  never 
be  hypnosis.  What  may  we  expect  hypnosis  to 
accomplish  so  long  as  the  homosexual  himself  re- 
mains in  the  dark  regarding  his  false  attitude,  so1 
long  as  he  has  not  learned  to  acknowledge  openly 
the  repressions  against  which  he  has  fought  so  long? 
Contrary  to  Krafft-Ebing,  Schrenk-Notzing,  and  Al- 
fred Fuchs,  I  have  never  met  with  a  lasting  cure 

fl Zur  Psychologic  der  Vita  Sexualis,  Allg.  Zeitschr.  f. 
Psychol,  1894. 


Psychoanalysis  307 

through  hypnotic  treatment.  We  must  accept  with 
greatest  caution  the  statements  of  homosexuals 
claiming  to  have  been  cured  by  us.7  Case  62  re- 
corded in  this  work,  illustrates  that  there  are  some 
homosexuals  who  in  order  to  please  the  physician 
and  conclude  the  treatment  with  flying  colors,  claim 
they  are  well  without  having  changed  in  the  least 
their  deeply  rooted  feeling-attitude.  Moll's  associa- 
tion therapy  I  am  also  unable  to  accept.  That 
method  of  treatment  consists  of  the  systematic  de- 
velopment of  normal  and  the  equally  deliberate  de- 
struction of  the  perverse,  associations.  Moll,  who 
has  proposed  this  therapy  and  given  it  that  designa- 
tion, has  the  homosexual  cultivate  deliberately  fem- 

7 1  am  unable  to  corroborate  the  contention  of  Ferenczi  in 
his  Zur  Nosologie  der  mannlichen  Homosexualitat  (Homo- 
erotik),  published  in  Zeitschrift  f.  arztl.  Psychoanalyse,  Vol. 
II,  189,  1914.  He  assumes  two  forms  of  homosexuality:  1. 
the  passive  subject-homoerotic,  who  represents  an  inborn  state 
and  stands  for  an  intermediary  type  in  Hirschfeld's  sense 
and  is  incurable  and  2.  the  active  object-homoerotic,  a  type 
he  describes  as  a  special  form  of  compulsion  neurosis.  The 
passive  type  never  consults  the  physician  for  his  trouble, — he 
is  a  genuine  homosexual;  the  active  type  is  unhappy  over  his 
condition,  he  shows  the  typical  symptoms.  Both  share  in 
common  the  peculiarity  that  their  own  sex  is  an  essential  con- 
dition for  the  attainment  of  their  love-object  and  remains 
so  throughout  life. 

I  have  seen  many  homosexuals  who  are  interchangeably 
active  or  passive.  On  the  other  hand  I  have  seen  active  homo- 
sexuals who  were  very  much  troubled  over  their  condition 
and  passive  homosexuals  who  have  been  cured.  Incidentally 
I  may  mention  that  Ferenczi  borrows  thoughts  from  my  essay 
on  Hasken  der  Homosexualitat,  without  indicating  the  source. 
Since  Freud  has  decreed  against  me  his  anathema,  the  nar- 
rower Freudian  school  looks  upon  my  work  as  common  prop- 
erty to  be  appropriated  at  will  by  any  one. 


308  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

inine  company  so  as  to  come  strongly  under  the 
specific  female  influences,  he  regulates  the  subject's 
reading  and  helps  him  overcome  the  homosexual 
phantasies.  The  subject  must  think  of  "normal 
pictures"  only,  before  going  to  sleep  and  thus  in- 
fluence his  dreams  in  the  proper  direction.8  But  one 
must  not  think,  as  MoU  concludes,  that  the  hetero- 
sexual dream  pictures  which  follow  are  due  to  the  as- 
sociation therapy.  The  pictures  thereby  are  merely 
rendered  bewusstseinsfahig,  tolerable  to  conscious- 
ness. They  were  always  present.  But  the  patient 
lacked  the  courage  to  acknowledge  them. 

I  do  not  mean  to  deny  a  certain  relative  value  to 
the  association  method.  It  is  certainly  not  an  ad- 
vantage for  the  homosexual  who  earnestly  strives  to 
get  cured  to  continue  to  frequent  homosexual  cir- 
cles and  to  have  constantly  dinned  into  his  ears 
the  assertion  that  his  condition  is  inborn  and  hope- 
less. I  have  quoted  some  cases  showing  that  latent 
homosexuality  may  become  manifest  through  con- 
tact with  and  the  example  of  homosexuals  while  the 
heterosexual  leaning  may  be  disturbed  thereby.  But 
I  did  not  intend  to  suggest  the  advisability  of  any 
compulsory  measures  for  restricting  the  homo- 
sexual's freedom  of  action  or  social  intercourse.  I 
have  already  expressed  myself  clearly  against  com- 
pulsions and  punishments.  It  is  advisable  to  urge 
8  Handbuch  der  Sexualwissenschaften,  p.  664. 


Association  Therapy  309 

the  homosexual  anxious  to  get  cured  to  give  up 
contact  with  homosexual  circles. 

But  that  the  association  therapy  alone  is  capable 
of  effecting  a  complete  cure  I  cannot  but  doubt.  The 
subject  must  first  learn  to  see  himself  clearly  and 
to  recognize  the  source  of  the  evil  against  which 
he  is  fighting.  We  must  bear  in  mind  the  many 
subjects  with  whom  repressed  sadism  is  the  true  cause 
of  the  fear  of  woman.  Such  subjects  must  first 
consciously  overcome  their  sadism,  they  must  recog- 
nize that  the  fear  is  a  ridiculous  attempt  at  protect- 
ing themselves  against  leanings  which  under  normal 
conditions  never  break  through. 

The  first  condition  for  the  successful  cure  of  homo- 
sexuality is  adequate  self-knowledge.  That  can  be 
accomplished  only  through  persistent  psychoanaly- 
sis. The  physician  must  devote  himself  to  the  sub- 
ject for  some  months  until  the  side-tracked  leanings 
which  the  patient  has  stubbornly  overlooked  are 
brought  into  the  field  of  consciousness  and  clearly  ac- 
knowledged. The  subject  is  like  a  person  with  torti- 
collis looking  constantly  in  one  direction  and  avoid- 
ing a  turn  of  his  head  on  account  of  the  pain.  This 
mental  torticollis  must  be  overcome.  The  homo- 
sexual— if  he  is  to  get  well — must  be  able  to  turn 
his  gaze  unrestrictedly  over  his  whole  mental  horizon 

That  is  by  no  means  a  simple  task.  It  is  an 
achievement  challenging  the  whole  medical  art,  re- 


310  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

quiring  insight,  diplomacy,  sympathy,  friendliness, 
and  patience.  But  few  physicians  are  fitted  for  the 
task.  Perhaps  the  opposition  to  psychoanalysis 
would  not  be  so  sharp  if  it  were  practiced  only  by 
competent  psychotherapeutists  and  experienced  pro- 
fessional men  possessing  the  requisite  tact.  The 
physician  is  like  the  sculptor  engaged  in  the  task 
of  bringing  forth  a  certain  form  out  of  raw  ma- 
terial. 

Unfortunately  I  must  point  out  in  this  connection 
that  the  psychoanalytic  method  inaugurated  by 
Freud  is  in  danger  of  falling  into  discredit  through 
careless  application.  On  the  one  hand  the  exaggera- 
tions of  the  master  and  his  pupils  have  repelled 
many  practitioners ;  on  the  other  many  of  the  pa- 
tients have  themselves  become  psychoanalysts,  with- 
out being  completely  cured  of  their  own  trouble. 
What  would  one  think  of  a  hydrotherapeutist,  ex- 
pert though  he  be  in  his  own  specialty,  who  under- 
took a  laparotomy?  Analysis  is  comparable  to  a 
serious  operation  requiring  a  steady,  experienced 
and  skilful  hand.  Psychoanalysis  does  not  permit 
dilletantism  like  hypnosis.  Only  from  an  experienced 
master  may  one  learn  the  difficult  art  of  psycho- 
analysis and  in  turn  become  a  master  of  the  art. 

It  is  quite  likely  that  the  analysis  of  today  will  be 
ridiculed  in  the  future  as  a  raw  beginning.  Various 
subtleties  and  gradations  remain  to  be  uncovered 
by  the  future  generations. 


Psychoanalysis  311 

The  psychoanalytic  realm  is  not  yet  completely 
laid  out. 

How  firmly  I  held  to  all  the  Freudian  mechanisms 
so  long  as  the  deceptive  proximity  of  the  great 
founder  confused  my  own  understanding!  How 
much  I  had  to  unlearn,  correct,  tone  down,  or  un- 
derscore, overcome  or  forget,  or  see  with  a  different 
eye,  before  I  realized  that  we  are  as  yet  but  at  the 
beginnings  of  our  knowledge  and  that  we  must  use 
our  present  findings  as  but  so  many  spring  boards 
to  enable  us  to  reach  a  little  farther  out !  Finally, 
each  psychotlurapeutist  formulates  in  the  end  his 
own  technique.  The  most  important  prerequisite  for 
psychoanalysis — as  for  every  scientific  investigator 
— is  to  approach  the  subject  without  any  preconcep- 
tions, to  look  upon  every  patient  as  a  new  problem 
and  not  to  be  surprised  if  one's  case  does  not  fit  in 
with  one's  ready-made  systems  or  if  it  disproves  one's 
favorite  notion.  For  even  the  physician  with  years 
of  experience  is  startled  to  meet  so  many  new  forms 
under  which  neurosis  manifests  itself. 

But  in  spite  of  the  variegated  pictures,  this  be- 
wildering variety  of  causes  leading  to  the  trouble, 
one  thing  remains  true  and  unalterable:  the  neu- 
rotic's unwillingness  to  see,  that  peculiarity  which 
Freud  has  called  repression,  and  the  consequent 
psychic  conflict.  We  must  first  appreciate  that  the 
patient's  mind  is  shattered  over  the  hopeless  char- 
acter of  his  conflict,  that  for  him  the  neurosis  is  a 


312  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

necessity,; — something  that  enables  him  in  one  way 
or  another  to  put  up  with  his  hardships, — some- 
thing with  which  softly  to  hide  his  wounds  on  the  one 
hand  and  on  the  other,  show  his  suffering  to  the 
world ; ,  when  we  appreciate  all  that,  we  may  gradu- 
ally acquire  the  subtle  skill  of  dissolving  the  ties 
and  bringing  the  wound  to  light.  We  see  the  wound 
but  the  patient  will  not,  cannot,  see  it.  He  may  go 
so  far  as  to  claim  that  he  has  no  wound  and  is  well; 
that  he  was  born  with  the  ties  that  bind  him;  or 
else,  that  he  came  with  that  wound  into  the  world. 

These  difficulties  are  in  no  psychoneurosis  so  great 
as  in  homosexuality.  As  I  have  already  stated:  the 
homosexual  neurosis  is  a  flight  to  one's  own  sex 
induced  by  the  sadistic  feeling-attitude  towards  the 
opposite  sex.  It  is  the  task  of  analysis  to  uncover 
the  mental  conflict  which  finds  expression  in  this  one- 
sidedness  and  to  enable  the  patient  to  see  the  cruelty 
trend  which  he  has  derived  from  the  childhood  of 
the  race  and  has  carried  through  his  own  childhood 
into  his  adult  life.  When  the  homosexual  becomes 
aware  of  his  bisexuality  and  sees  the  causes  of  his 
monosexual  leaning  we  have  accomplished  the  requis- 
ite educational  task.  Beyond  that  point  the  patient 
must  help  himself.  If  he  is  truly  earnest  about  his 
desire  to  get  well  he  rentt  accomplish  it  without  being 
pushed  to  it.  If  he  lacks  the  inner  will  the  situation 
is  hopeless  in  spite  of  the  analysis. 

For  that  reason  I  am  not  in  favor  of  the  practical 


Psychoanalysis  313 

management  of  homosexuality  as  carried  out  by 
many  physicians  and  particularly  by  some  psycho- 
analysts. They  urge  the  homosexual  to  adopt  hetero- 
sexual ways,  and  consider  the  subject  cured  when 
he  is  able  to  have  normal  coitus  a  few  times.  Unfor- 
tunately unpleasant  reactions  often  follow  alleged 
cures  such  as  are  often  claimed  for  persuasion-ther- 
apy and  hypnosis.  The  homosexual  abandons  all 
further  attempts  and  prefers  his  original  monosexual 
attitude. 

We  may  claim  a  cure  only  after  the  subject  under 
treatment  falls  in  love  with  a  suitable  person  of  the 
other  sex.  Potentia  caeundi  is  not  enough.  He  must 
be  able  to  give  up  dividing  the  feeling-complex  hatred 
— love  between  the  two  sexes — and  to  achieve  the  bi- 
polar attitude  "hatred  and  love"  towards  the  oppo- 
site sex.  Such  a  miracle  only  love  can  perform.  Ex- 
perience proves  that  the  homosexual  flees  from  the 
heterosexual  love  to  save  himself.  The  latter  looms 
up  in  his  mind  as  a  test  of  power,  in  which  he  is 
anxious  to  come  out  the  winner,  even  at  the  cost  of 
doing  away  with  his  heterosexual  partner.  He  must 
accept  the  subjection  to  woman  implied  in  love  and 
recognize  that  in  true  love  both  lovers  rule  and 
both  obey.  He  must  also  learn  to  recognize  the  es- 
sential unity  of  erotism  and  sexuality.  Only  when 
the  homosexual  finds  it  possible  to  fix  his  erotism  and 
sexuality  upon  the  same  goal,  in  a  person  of  the 
opposite  sex, — in  other  words,  when  he  learns  to 


314  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

love  in  adult  manner, — have  we  the  right  to  claim 
a  cure.  It  is  only  then,  at  any  rate,  that  the  great- 
est healer  of  all  ages,  love,  achieves  its  easy  victory 
and  the  former  patient,  like  all  neurotics,  thinks 
that  mere  chance  has  brought  him  face  to  face  with 
his  ideal.  With  that  end  in  view  the  fixation  on  the 
family — through  which  the  homosexual  loses  his 
erotic  freedom,  occasionally  also  the  sexual — must  be 
severed.  I  have  brought  strong  proofs  to  show  that 
we  must  transform  the  homosexual  into  a  bisexual 
being,  in  order  to  cure  him.  Practical  experience 
does  not  favor  bisexuality.  We  must  reckon  with 
the  fact  that  we  live  in  a  monosexual  age.  The 
homosexual  must  transpose  his  whole  sexuality  and 
must  try  to  overcome  or  sublimate  his  one-sided 
leanings. 

The  necessary  educational  discipline  takes  a  long 
time.  The  treatment  of  homosexuality  therefore  is 
a  formidable  task,  both  for  the  analyst  and  for  the 
patient.  The  end-result  of  the  treatment  may  not 
be  known  definitely  for  some  years. 

I  have  tried  to  describe  the  technique  of  the  an- 
alysis in  the  individual  cases.  From  those  various 
indications  the  reader  may  form  a  picture  of  the  dif- 
ficulties. A  systematic  account  of  the  technique 
of  the  analysis  would  require  a  volume  in  itself.  Per- 
haps after  finishing  my  Disorders  of  the  Instincts 
and  Emotions  Series  I  may  write  such  a  work  in  or- 


Psychoanalysis  315 

der  to  acquaint  with  my  experience  the  practitioners 
who  want  to  grapple  with  the  same  problems. 

A  new  generation  of  physicians,  not  brought  up 
in  the  midst  of  the  prejudices  of  the  older,  will  fur- 
ther the  psychologic  investigation  of  the  neuroses. 

Naturally  the  high  school  must  change  its  attitude 
towards  the  problem  of  sex.  Departments  of  Sex- 
ology and  Psychotherapy  are  necessary  to  instruct 
the  young  physicians  in  the  essentials  of  sexual  life 
and  its  morbid  changes,  in  order  to  prepare  the  fu- 
ture practitioner  to  deal  effectively  with  these  trou- 
bles, heretofore  erroneously  looked  upon  as  hope- 
less. The  next  volumes  in  this  Series  will  prove  how 
little  the  paraphilias  are  inborn  and  how  much  they 
are  the  result  of  training  and  environment.  But 
what  is  formulated  through  faulty  training  may  be 
corrected  by  proper  reeducation,  even  though  the 
hold  of  infantilism  appears  unconquerable. 

I  have  called  the  paraphilias  the  struggle  between 
spinal  cord  and  brain.  They  are,  even  more  truly, 
the  Struggle  of  Child  against  Adult.  For  at  bottom 
these  neuroses  are  but  inf antilisms  struggling  for  sur- 
vival. The  adult  fights  against  the  child;  the  adult 
race,  ripe  for  monosexuality,  fights  against  its  child- 
hood manifesting  itself  in  bisexuality  and  sadism. 
The  physician  can  see  to  it  that  the  warfare  is  car- 
ried on  in  humane  fashion  and  with  means  worthy  of 
civilization.  He  can  turn  the  hidden  into  an  open 


316  The  Homosexual  Neurosis 

warfare.  It  means  overcoming  the  evil — or  that 
which  the  moralists  call  evil — by  meeting  it  face  to 
face. 

He  who  looks  for  more  than  a  few  words  on  the 
subject  of  the  prophylaxis  of  homosexuality  and 
onanism  will  be  disappointed.  I  believe  it  is  best 
that  we  turn  our  attention  to  these  themes  only 
when  we  are  called  upon  to  do  so  in  our  professional 
capacity.  I  advise  all  parents  and  educators  not  to 
watch  whether  a  child  masturbates  or  not.  The  child 
quits  the  habit  when  it  finds  other  ways  for  releasing 
the  tension.  And  our  analyses  have  abundantly 
shown  us  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  prevent 
masturbation.  The  evil  effects  produced  upon  the 
child  witnessing  marital  bickerings,  the  household 
inspiration  it  receives  with  regard  to  judgment-feel- 
ings about  women  and  men,  the  decisive  manner  in 
which  parents  affect  it  when  they  transfer  their  con- 
flicts on  the  child, — these  capital  facts  the  life  his- 
tories of  homosexuals  given  above  illustrate  very 
clearly  for  any  one  willing  to  look  squarely  at  the 
truth.  We  do  not  as  yet  appreciate  how  careful  we 
must  be  in  our  relations  with  the  children.  Our  edu- 
cators are  still  guilty  of  a  serious  blunder  when  they 
conceive  their  duty  to  be  to  instill  goodness  in  the 
child  through  the  instrumentality  of  fear.  There  are 
only  two  educational  levers:  one's  own  example  and 
— love.  The  healthiest  children  come  from  happy 
marriages.  It  is  love  that  determines  whether  a  mar- 


Prophylaxis  317 

riage  shall  be  a  happy  one  and  whether  the  offspring 
will  be  healthy  or  weak.  The  unconscious  sexual  in- 
stinct, manifesting  itself  in  love  is  the  guide  for  the 
regeneration  of  the  human  race.9  Social  conditions 
favoring  early  love  marriages  are  the  only  social  re- 
form to  which  I  look  for  results.  .  .  . 

'  A  new  orientation  in  matters  of  sexual  morality  is  on  the 
way  in  spite  of  tremendous  opposition.  I  refer  those  inter- 
ested to  Eulenburg's  excellent  work,  Moral  und  Sexualitat 
(Verlag,  Marcus  &  Webster,  Bonn,  1916). 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


Abstinence,  81,  191 
Adult  Love,  314 
Age,  50 

Aggressivity,  283 
Ahasuerus-Type,   214 
Alcoholism,  27,  69,  178,  183 
Ambisexuality,  12 
Anal  Eroticism,  245 
Anamnesis  (of  H.),  231 
Anger,  69,  120,  152 
Antagonism,  94,  304 
Anxiety,  15,  164,  178 
neurosis,  28,  76,  191 
Asocial   (Cravings),  194 
Associations,  250 
Association-Therapy,  307 
Atavism,  162,  297 
Attachment    (to  Father),  182 
Autism,   173 
Aversion,  29,  31,  57,  97 

Bipolarity,  157,  206,  218,  265, 

283 
Bisexuality,  12,  296 

Censorship,  267 
Christianity,  301 
Compromise,  189,  290 
Compulsion   Neurosis,  192 
Conflict,  Psychic,  311 

Psychology  of,  93 
Confusion  States,  176 
Conscience,  144 
Coprophilia,   247 
Cravings,  180 
Creative  Energy,  296 
Crime  Passionelle,  23,  158 


Criminality,  13,  18  pacsim,  20, 
70,  133,  138,  144,  151,  157, 
187 

Culture,  159 

Cunnilingus,  209,  216 

Day  Dreaming,  138 
Defence  of  Jealousy,  123 
Degeneration  Theory,  282,  296 

passim 
Delusion  of  Jealousy,  161 

vs.  Reality,  177 
Depression,  96,  104,  187 
Differentiation,  Sexual,  294 
Disgust,    15,    21,    29,    62,    63, 

207 

Dorian  Love,  300 
Dreams,  82,  131   passim,  176, 

240,  247,  254  passim,  267, 

269,  271,  277 
Drinkers'  Jealousy,  183 
Drug  Addiction,  176,  178 
Dyspareunia,  18,  95 
Dyspnoea,  72 

Egoism,  291 
Elektra,  195 
Engrams,  295 
Epilepsy,  22  passim 
Ethics,  Sexual,  317 

Family,  Love  of,  91 
Fancies,      Homosexual,      247, 

253 

Father  Complex,  227 
Father  Imago,  35,  36,  39,  49, 

61  passim,  77,  283 


319 


320 


Index  of  Subjects 


Fear,  57,  62,  67 

of  Sexual  Partner,  15  pas- 
sim, 17,  20,  38 

of  Women.  286 
Feeling  Attitude,  216 
Fellatio,  73,  247 
Fetichism,  44 
Fixation,  47,  70,  79,  81 

Emotional,  223 
Flight  Reflex,  234 

Greek  Love,  82  passim 
Guilty  Conscience,  296 
Guilt,  Feeling  of,  207 

Hair  Symbolism,  262 
Hatred,    19,    38,    79,    80,    103, 

132,    134,    145,    273,    289, 

304 
Hermaphroditism,    Unilateral, 

297 

Heterosexuality,  269 
Horror  Feminae,  14 
Hypnosis,  306 
Hysteria,  22 

Identification,  49,  103,  110 
Impotentia,  40,  69 
Inability  to  Love,  289 
Inbreeding,  297 
Incest  Phantasy,  33,  105,  146, 
155,    181,    187,    194,    222, 
265 

Infantile    Attitude,    283,    292, 
295 

Reminiscences,  286 

Sexual  Theory,  211,  246 
Infantilism,   44,   133,   220 
Inferiority,  Feeling  of,  229 
Insanity,  156,  158 

Fear  of,  176,  177 

Periodic,  176 

Intermediate  Sex  Theory,  217 
Inversion,  41,  43,  49 

Jealousy,    76,    102,    109,    127 
passim,  131    135,  156,  292 
Judaism,  299 


Late  Homosexuality,  50 
Latent  Criminality,  137 

Homosexuality,  296,  308 
Law  of  Substitution,  89,  90 
Libido,  29,  44,  260 
Love,  157 

Attitude,  295 

Masochism,  207 
Masturbation,   16,  55,   64,   66, 

155,  230,  245 
Maternal      Body      Phantasy» 

268,  272 

Melancholia,  118 
Monogamy,  303 
Monosexuality,     187     passim, 

299 

Monotheism,  Sexual,  193 
Mother  Imago,  34,  41,  49,  89, 

144,  146 

Mother-in-Law,   118 
Motherhood,  95 
Motivations,  159 

Narcissism,    47,    48,    91,    269, 

291 

Neurasthenia,  72 
Neurosis,  Epileptic,  27 
Non-Conscious  H.,  117 

Oedipus,  195 
Ontogenesis,  156,  281 
Orgasm,  63 
Overcleanliness,  266 
Over-valuation      (of      Manli- 
ness), 217,  295 

Pansexualism,  193 
Paranoia,  156,  163,  166,  190 
Paraphilia,  200,  219 
Pederasty,  Epileptic,  26 
"Penetrating  Eye"  Symbolism, 

61 

Permanence  of  H.,  46 
Persecution,  Delusion  of,  159, 

171,  192 
Philogenesis,  156,  281 


Index  of  Subjects 


321 


Philosophy,  39 
Polar    iension,  293,  303 
Pollution  Symbolism,  259 
Precocity,  Sexual,  291 
Primordial  Hatred,  282 
Progression,  297 
Projection,  Psychic,  159 
Prophylaxis,  316 
Protection,  80 
Pseudo-Heterosexuality,  14 
Psychoanalysis,   139,  146,   170, 

176,  200,  208,  284,  310 
Psychogenesis  of  H.,  105,  181, 

280,    298 
Paranoia,  171 

Psychosexual  Infantilism,  148 
Psychosis,  156 
Puella  Publics,  194 
Purity,  105 

Querrulants,  172 

Rage,  19,  158 

Regression,  90,  132,   163,  194, 

195,  282,  292 
Religion,  301 
Reminiscences,  179 
Repressed  Sadism,  270 
Repression,    34,    43,    49,    190, 

194 

Revenge  Fancies,  169,  292 
Revolt,  92 
Rivalry,  between  Sexes,  293 

Sadism,   38,   49,    69,    159,    161 

passim,   200 
Sadistic  Trend,  177 
Scatologic    Fancies,   244,   246, 

260 

Scent,  46 
Scorn,   15,  32 
Self-Knowledge,  309 
Self-Love,  284,  291 

Pathologic,  193 

Punishment,  135 

Torture,  202 


Servant  Girl,  119 
Severity,  Parental,  220 
Sexual  Infantilism,  260 
Sister  Imago,  88 
Social  Abhorrence  of  H.,  298 
Specific  Phantasy,  78 
Spermatozoan  Dream,  272 
Spiritual  Marriage,  166,  264 
Sublimation,  88,  90 
Submissiveness,  135 
Suicide,  76 
Supremacy,  Struggle  for,  220, 

222 

Symbolism,  44 
Sympathetic  Act,  111 

Telepathy,  186 

Tenderness,  Craving  for,  274 

Parental,  220 
Third  Sex  Theory,  15 
Transposition,  Emotional,  162 
Transvestitism,  252,  296 
Trauma,  Psychic,  98 
Tuberculosis,    Symbolism    of, 
233 

Uncertainty,  168 
Unconscious,    160,    194 
Uranism,  34,  189 
Urlind,  95,  133,  195,  284 
Urning,    14,    31,    33,    47,    48 

passim,  194,  284 
Urolagnia,  248 

Voyeurism,  117 

Vomiting,  Symptomatic,  242 

Warning,  105 

Water  Closet  Symbolism,  244 

passim 
Wish,  207 

Fulfillment,  111 

Incestuous,  131,  133 

Zoophily,  155 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Adler,  15,  222,  285 
Aristotle,  299 

Beaussart,  155 
Berg,  91,  92  passim 
Bjerre,  170 
Bloch,  14 
Bethe,  300  passim 
Burchard,  27 

Dessoir,  303 
Eulenburg,  21,  317 

Fehlinger,  294 
Fleischmann,  200,  206,  208 
Freimark,  93 
Freud,  156,  161,  213,  215,  310, 

311 
Fuchs,  306 

Havelock  Ellis,  220 

Heine,  271 

Hirschfeld,  11,  12  passim,  14, 
21,  26,  27,  29,  30  passim, 
48,  90,  95,  188  passim,  193, 
296  passim,  297,  299 

Ibsen,  89 
Juliusburger,  159,  160 

Kaffka,  233 
Krafft-Ebing,  190  passim 


Magnan,  296 
Moll,  307 

Nietzsche,  10,  11,  198,  199,  288, 
289 

Oppenheim,  161 

Paul   (Jean),  138 

Platen,  43 

Praetorius  (Numa),  29 

Raffalovich,  284 
Rank,  90 

Rochefoucauld,  108,  109,  154, 
155 

Sadger,  35  passim,  38,  39,  43, 

45,  48,  71,  285 
Schnitzler,  125 
Schopenhauer,  52,  53 
Schrenk-Notzing,  306 
Schrecker,  229 

Stekel,  200,  258,  264,  268,  290 
Strindberg,  80 

Tannenbaum,  125 
Tarnowsky,  305 

Van  Teslaar,  18,  23,  90,  207, 
258,  264,  268,  290 

Weininger,  80 
Ziemcke,  205 


322 


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MAY  03 1988 


352 


31  -i  rr  o    X.' ""  " "" «  • 
1158  01138  5 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Illlll 


A     000  383  787     9 


